You may have noticed that I didn’t have a column last week. I was on vacation, but it was unlike any other vacation I have ever taken in my life.
I was contacted late last year by a Marine recruiter in Abilene about something called an Educators Workshop, where they take teachers to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, so they can see what it takes to “make Marines.”
No, to answer your next question, I am not an educator. They open a few slots up every year for media folks like me to go, so I put in an application, and was selected to go!
I had visions of me watching what was essentially the 1st half of Full Metal Jacket live and in the flesh.
I’ll admit, there were similarities, but what struck me most were the differences.
Like the fact that most recruits were high school graduates, some with college hours. Gone are the days of the “Ya get 2 choices boy, jail or the Marines” type of recruits. (I honestly don’t know if that was ever an accurate representation!)
These are the dedicated, smart, loyal, hard working kids that you respect when you meet them and are struck with how mature they are for their age.One guy driving us around was very well spoken, and had knowledge on various topics that made him sound well learned about what we were discussing. He was 19 years old! That was not to be the only time I was impressed about that kind of thing.
Our group was assigned our own drill instructor, to show us around, and give us a taste of what the recruits go through. And Staff Sergeant Givings was GOOD AT HIS JOB!
I stood on the Yellow Footprints, I was marching, snapping to attention, shouting “Aye Aye, Sir!” at the top of my lungs, running a Bayonet Assault Course, and so on!
He had this laid back, easy going, morning-show host hopping out of his seat on command without a second thought by the second day of the trip!
It was a fun, educational, exhausting trip that I will look back on with fond memories, and I plan on telling my “War Stories” to anyone who will listen!
Oh, and if you’re contemplating joining, I say, talk to a local recruiter and make sure, but it is definitely a life changing thing.
Also, have a thick skin. You’ll need it, especially the first few days!
Ben Cox is the morning show host of “Ben Cox in the Morning” on KQBZ, 96.9 FM in Brownwood Texas. He is the new in-stadium voice of the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets football team, & Ben is also an event DJ for weddings, parties and the like, and can be contacted through the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce.
The thoughts and comments reflected in this column are those of the writer alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of Wendlee Broadcasting, or its affiliates.
