Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego -- Courage, one of the Marine Corps’ core values, is the moral, mental and physical strength implanted in Marines that pushes them through challenges such as combat or fear and assist them in making them in tough decisions under stress and pressure. Recruits must learn to be courageous before they earn the title Marine.
Recruits of Delta Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, conquered the rappel tower with confidence on training day 58 at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, March 20.
The purpose of the tower is for recruits to descend the 60-foot tower, putting their trust and confidence in the equipment, their training and the Marine spotting them.
“The rappel tower is utilized to give us confidence and courage and for a lot of us, it helps overcome the fear of heights,” said recruit Pablo Rebolledo, Platoon 1061. “Confidence and courage are important attributes of being a Marine. We learn these traits from the start of our careers right here in recruit training.”
Before recruits rappelled, Instructional Training Company instructors taught a class on how to properly set up a secure harness and the rappelling techniques used to descend down the tower.
One of the techniques learned was how to apply a “brake hand,” which adjusts the speed while descending the tower. The recruits were given gloves to protect their hands as well as to serve as an extra grip on the rope, while a helmet and safety harness were worn for safety.
The rappel tower event consisted of two individual events; fast roping and rappelling. Fast roping is a technique used to insert troops into areas where landing an aircraft may not be possible because of either safety or logistical reasons. Instead, the troops will descend a rope that has been lowered from the back of an aircraft.
After conducting the fast rope exercise, recruits climbed the stairs to the top of the 60-foot tower and prepared for the descent.
“The rappel tower is one of the harder obstacles to overcome, but it’s vital that we push through and overcome the challenge of heights,” said recruit Miguel A. Munguiagrimaldo. “There is a big trust factor that takes place. If I start to fall I’m counting on the Marine below to stop the rappel so I can reset myself. Marines have to trust each other.”
Company D recruits left the rappel tower with not only a higher level of confidence knowing they conquer the tower, but also with the ability to trust the Marine to their left and right, a principle upon which the Marine Corps brotherhood is built upon.