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Marine Combat Training • By PFC Karen L. HagEstad

MRE’s, machine guns, flak jackets, and a whole lot of sweat are only a few of the details from Marine Combat Training that I remember. My name is PFC. Karen L. HagEstad and I attended MCT from June 13, 2011 to July 12, 2011 at Camp Geiger in North Carolina. At times it was hard, very hard, but overall my experience was a good one. I met a lot of cool Marines and learned an incredible amount of knowledge that no doubt could save my life one day… or better yet someone else’s.

Travel & Check-In

When I graduated boot camp I was one of the few Marines who did not get Recruiter’s Assistance (RA) to extend boot leave. So when I got on the plane to head to North Carolina I was by myself. If you have a layover somewhere, chances are you’ll meet up with other Marines who are also on their way to Marine Combat Training. I had issues with my flights and they were delayed several times so I actually ended up arriving late and all alone. I showed up in my Alphas as I was instructed to do and checked in. Since I was late I was taken to a temporary barracks until I could be processed and assigned to a Company. The temporary barracks is basically all of the Med Holds – people who get injured and dropped. It isn’t anything like barracks life in MCT so don’t get your hopes up. The next day I was taken to medical, I filled out paperwork, took a drug test and was assigned to Kilo Company. Once assigned I was taken to the actual squad bay I would be sleeping in along with a few others who had arrived after me. Next we were taken to get all of our gear.

Receiving Gear & Getting Started

Getting gear in MCT is much easier than getting gear in boot camp. There are civilians that make sure it all fits and it is in proper working condition. Also when we were walking down the line grabbing each item, the way the civilians tell each Marine “good luck” really put us into the mindset that we were going to war. Once we were issued all of our gear we packed it all into our ILBE Packs and took it back to the squad bay. While we were there we ate at the chow hall, which serves normal food, took a few classes and went on our first hike. The hike was only three miles and we carried our ILBEs of course. Now depending on what company you are in will determine what goes into that pack. In Kilo we packed only what we needed and nothing more. The only hike that is a graduation requirement is the 15k which is the 9 mile hike at the end of training. I did not get to go on the first hike because I and a few other Marines were assigned as Armory watch.

Camp Devil Dog

At the end of week one, once everyone had been issued all of their gear and checked out medically we were bused out to Camp Devil Dog for another week. During this time we attended more classes and only PT-ed once with rifles. We also conducted the Combat Fitness Course, just like the one you do at boot camp during the Crucible. Our platoons consisted of males and females and there were four platoons for each company. We were identified by different colored tape that we had to put on all of our gear. Whenever we did hikes or PT, yes females did fall out, but they weren’t the only ones. There were some females that outdid the males and some males that whined worse than some females do during “that time of the month.” If you’re good at PT then you will be fine.

At Camp Devil Dog there is an armory of course that each platoon has to guard and we were on rotations. You guard it all day and all night. At the end of week two we went on our next hike which is 6 miles out to the range. We woke up extremely early got lined up in a hike formation and headed out. When we were there they were experiencing horrible forest fires and the ash was so thick you could barely breathe just standing there. By the time we got to the range we were all covered in ash so bad that it looked like we had been covered in grey paint.

The Range

We were at the range for two weeks were you guessed it there were more classes, but here is where we learned everything about the different types of weapons we would be firing and how combat actually works. Before each lesson we watched YouTube videos to “wake us up.” Some were funny and others were actual videos from combat. They called them “Motivational Videos.”

There is no chow hall at the range so this is where they issued us our MREs. They would give us 8 or 9 at the beginning of each week and it was up to us to ration them out the entire time we were there. We got a set time to eat in the morning when we woke up but other than that if you have time to eat that is when you eat.

We made “Flak Packs” which is a daypack that contains, two MRE’s, a Kevlar, knowledge books, moonbeam (flashlight), ear and eye pro, a canteen and gortex top and bottoms. Once we smashed all of that in, we placed our flak jackets around the outside of the daypack. It was extremely heavy and awkward to carry but we got used to it. We also had Deuce Gear which was a zip up vest that had two magazine pouches, a grenade pouch, and two canteen pouches. Our rifles of course went everywhere with us and we were also issued Camelbacks which have to be filled at all times. The requirement for us to drink was 6-9 Camelbacks a day. It was on average over 100 degrees everyday and the humidity was almost 100% the entire time so it was not hard for most of us to drink that amount. However, we still ended up having 29 heat casualties total at the end of training. It is very important to hydrate and eat!!!

Hygiene

Another thing that is important is hygiene. Before you go to the range you will go to the PX to buy the ever so awesome baby wipes. There is one bathroom at the range that has running water but the water that comes out smells worse than death and you are better off not showering at all! Some used baby wipes and others would fill two or three canteens and use them as a sort of make shift shower. Females definitely used canteens to wash their hair if it was long because the amount if dirt and mud and sweat that would build up. Luckily the instructors weren’t worried about how our hair looked so we didn’t have to have a perfect sock bun every day. As long as we got our Kevlar’s to fit on our heads we were good to go.

Weapons

We would have one class over one type of weapon each day. Sometimes there were two. Once you learn about a weapon you go through PracAp to make sure you know how to clear it if it jams, load and unload it correctly. Then you get to fire them! The first thing we got to do was throw the grenades. They showed us the correct form to throw it and what to do if you freak out and drop it, which luckily we didn’t have anyone do with a live grenade. I have heard that on the west coast you get to watch the grenades explode however on the east coast we were not so lucky. After the grenades we hiked out to the next range which was about a mile away to BZO our weapons for the live fire buddy rushes. They gave us plenty of time to practice and we practiced with countless blank rounds. Nobody was shot or injured during our range time. However, the MCT instructors told us several times that the average is at least one or two people get shot in each cycle. Whether or not that is true or just a scare tactic, I have no idea but it seemed to work with us.

The next weapons were the machine guns. Most of us didn’t get to shoot the machine guns because the day we went out to do it, it was so hot that we had 15 heat cases in one day. Once the first person went down it was like a domino effect. We ended up having to stop everything and our First Sergeant made everyone strip down to boots and uts and sit in the shade for hours until people stopped dropping like flies.

Next was the grenade launcher. We didn’t actually get to shoot a grenade which was disappointing, but what we did shoot was like a grenade paintball which was kind of cool because the whole range was colorful when we were done. We didn’t get to shoot the AT4 either because, we were told, it was one of the cutbacks that was made to save money. Either way we still got to hold them and pretend to shoot them, and watched videos of other people shooting them.

The last thing we got to do was day and night fire with our M16s. They set up targets and they are supposed to keep a score for you but unless you are a complete and total meatball… you will qualify. In our cycle there were also 5 of us that were lucky enough to shoot with an M4. So every time I shot the M16 the M4 would follow. It’s good to be short sometimes and have short arms!

Once we wrapped up the last event at the range which was the night fire we were bused back to Camp Devil Dog for the last week of training which would consist of the Confidence Course, cleaning all the weapons and BSRE. The day we got back we had only gotten two hours of sleep the night before because of the night fire. We were all completely soaked with sweat because when you are in full cammies, sleeves down in NC in June… your cammies never really dry out anyway.

We were taken to one of the huge auditorium classrooms where we were told to sit down and wait for further instruction. A little bit later our First Sergeant came in, turned off the lights and told us to initiate Combat Nap Time. Some Marine in the back yelled out very motivated-ly “AYE FIRST SERGEANT!” and we all took a much needed nap. We also got to make a PX call and we were allowed to get snacks and Gatorade and any hygiene items we needed. And the best part… we got to do laundry! 

Back in Camp Devil Dog there are showers. The water is ice cold, but after a long day in the heat it is refreshing.

We settled in and went to some more classes and practiced for BSRE which is also a “three day war.” We went into the woods, very deep into the woods, and dug our foxholes. The holes have to be as deep as the tallest person’s armpit. I felt bad for some of the guys who were six feet tall… we were out there from 0600 until about 2000 just digging holes. We went back to the squad bays exhausted and just wanted to sleep but little did we know that wasn’t going to happen. Apparently we were too exhausted to make sure our rifles were properly secured to our racks and the instructors came through and took 50 out of 60 rifles and lined them up outside. While they were doing this they woke everyone in the female squad bay up to watch them. Then when they had all of the rifles they proceeded to chew us out for another hour or so and then sent us back to bed.

I guess since it was the last week people decided that rules didn’t apply anymore but the instructors were there to remind us the instant we forgot.

Basic Skills Retention Test (BSRE)

Now when the Basic Skills Retention Test (BSRE) came around we had a blast. You start with stations where you are to use everything you have learned about combat and its student versus instructors.

You search vehicles and people trying to come through the gate, practice jumping out of a seven ton when an IED goes off, providing security, going through a fake town (MOUT Town) and clearing rooms. MOUT Town is the best because you convert your M16 to a high powered paint ball gun and actually get to shoot the instructors with paintball bullets. Don’t get too excited they get to shoot back and they have more rounds than you… naturally. It all ends when you go back out into the woods to live in the holes you dug earlier for two days. During that time you take turns in groups patrolling all day and all night. If you aren’t patrolling you are sitting in the holes providing security. At random times the instructors would come through shooting the place up with blank rounds or just walking through dressed as a terrorist and you had to make the decisions based on your knowledge of the rules of engagement whether or not to shoot.

Our BSRE ended with a bang because I guess some Marine got bored or thought we were under attack at 0300 and started shooting… so the whole company followed. The instructors were running around for about an hour and a half screaming “cease fire” but we couldn’t hear them over the machine gun and M16 fire that was going on so we went until we ran out of ammo – blank rounds of course. Once the BSRE was over, we filled in our fox holes and headed back to the squad bays. Once there we got our laundry back, cleaned off all the cammo-paint and rested before our last 9 mile hike back to civilization, Camp Geiger.

Almost Done

The 9 mile hike at MCT is almost as motivating as the last hike back from the Crucible. No matter what, you are going to make it because at the end awaits a chow hall, a hot shower, and a place to do laundry! We all made the hike back with all 29 heat cases in the front and only had a few close calls when we stopped, but no one completely dropped out. We put all of our stuff back into its original squad bay and settled in.

The the last couple of days we cleaned our M16s for an entire day and when the instructors determined they were good enough, we could stop. We cleaned for 8 hours straight, maybe longer. Then we turned all of our gear in, had family day, then graduation.

Graduation

Graduation was a small ceremony. We wore our cammies and it was actually surprising to see how many families showed up. After graduation, and once all the families had left, they put you into different bus groups based on where you are going for MOS school and you leave from there.

Cell Phones

As far as cell phones went we got our phones for about 10 minutes some Sundays but that’s it. They were given back when we got back to Camp Geiger. It sucked at times and other times it was completely awesome. Overall I can say I had a really good time and it was a great experience.

I love being a Marine!

PFC Karen L. HagEstad

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