Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego -- The term “confidence” is stressed to recruits in all different ways. Recruits learn early on in recruit training that to be a Marine, one must be confident because the mission and your fellow Marines depend on it.
Recruits of Mike Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, conquered some of their fears during the Confidence Course at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Sept. 29.
The Confidence Course is designed to help recruits build confidence within themselves and to help motivate each other to work on team work, explained Sgt. Jason M. May, drill instructor, Platoon 3275.
“This is the recruits first introduction to the Confidence Course, so they will be put through a series of challenges they have never faced before,” said May, a 33-year-old, Bergenfield N.J. native. “As the recruits complete each obstacle, they will start to gain confidence in themselves, which is the main objective of this course.”
Recruits began the event by receiving a demonstration by their drill instructors on the techniques they will be using to conquer each obstacle.
Obstacles in the Confidence Course included the Monkey Bridge, Skyscraper, Wall Climb, The Rope Jump and several others. This was the first time the recruits had faced any of the obstacles on the Confidence Course.
After the demonstration, recruits were divided up into groups and assigned a drill instructor who led them through the course.
Recruits sprinted from obstacle to obstacle and while they waited for their turn to tackle the objective, they practiced techniques from the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program.
“After each obstacle, we performed MCMAP techniques, which trains us to fight when are bodies are physically exhausted,” said Recruit Gregg L. Hoskins, Platoon 3275.
The nonstop action during of the course was the most challenging aspect, explained Hoskins, an 18-year-old Chicago native.
“The obstacles are challenging both physically and mentally, so it’s important to stay motivated and keep pushing forward through the course,” said Hoskins.
One of the toughest obstacles for recruits is the Skyscraper, according to May. It is a 30-foot ladder structure, which recruits have to climb. However, as they go up each step, the gaps between the logs become wider.
The recruits will face this course again during Confidence Course II, but the next iteration will include the Stairway to Heaven and the Slide for Life. The Slide for Life is the final obstacle in the Confidence Course II. It is a 25-foot tower the recruits climb, then descend by sliding down a 90-foot cable on their stomachs over a pool of water. When they reach the half-way point of the cable they are instructed to swing their bodies down and continue the descent hanging from the cable. Recruits who fall land in the pool below for motivation.
Although Company M has completed one more step in their journey to become Marines, nothing in recruit training becomes easier as they progress. They will take what they learn from the Confidence Course and apply it to the tougher challenges they will face in the near future.