MCRD San Diego -- During recruit training, the final challenge all recruits must face before earning the title United States Marine is known as the Crucible, a 54-hour long training exercise that challenges recruits both physically and mentally.
On Aug. 19, recruits of Company B, 1st recruit Training Battalion, left to endure the Crucible aboard Edson Range, Camp Pendleton, Calif., and on Aug. 25, they returned as Marines.
The event, which involves food and sleep deprivation and the completion of various obstacles for the potential Marine to endure, has been a rite of passage for all Marines since it was created December 1996.
“As a company, our expectations were for them to push through the training as a whole unit,” said Staff Sgt. William A. Getts, senior drill instructor, Platoon 1026, Co. B. “They needed to go out there and give it everything they had and a lot of them did.”
Before leaving, some recruits expected the training to be difficult and prepared to be challenged, according to Pfc. Frank R. Reina, Plt. 1026, a Palmdale, Calif. native.
“Going into it, I knew it was going to be challenging. Having to work as a team was tough at first, everyone’s miserable and everyone wants to take charge, but as time went on, recruits realized that it got easier if we started working together.” said Reina. “It was definitely a challenge both mentally and physically, and it was a good opportunity to get to know my squad and platoon.”
Some recruits that hadn’t necessarily stood out through recruit training stood out as they endured the Crucible such as Reina, according to Getts.
“He took charge a lot. He had no previous billet, but still presented himself as a leader,” said Getts.
Not only did Reina’s senior drill instructor see the change during the Crucible, but so did some of his peers, according to Pfc. Johnathon W. McEntire, Plt. 1026, a Sheridan, Arkansas native.
“Reina definitely stood out and took roles as a leader,” said McEntire. “Almost every recruit had the opportunity to be a squad leader or a fire team leader at some point, and some recruits stood out more than others.”
As recruits faced the reaper, the last portion of the Crucible, they held it together and completed the training as a whole company, what they intended to do, according to Getts.
“They faced the Crucible together and came out together; exactly how it should be,” said Getts. “Morale is definitely boosted now that they have become Marines. They just faced the culminating event of recruit training, and I think they have a good idea now of what it can be like to be challenged physically and mentally in the field.”