Hey, my cousin join the Corps and ships out early next year? Any advice?
I told him to shut up and not get any dumb tattoos (Marine Corps related) before hand, he should wait till he becomes one to do that. Seriously, dumbass was going to go into boot with a globe and anchor.
We had several 'necks that had EGA tattoos at the start of boot camp. One didn't graduate. Bahahaha.
Good advice, though. And don't wear Marine Corps shirts or any other gear. Don't get a Marine haircut. Let your hair get a little shaggy (not hippie length or anything) because when they shave it off, the longer the hairs, the easier it is to shake them out of your clothes.
Don't quit on any exercise or task, even if you slow down a bit, as long as they can tell you are trying your damnedest then they will only "mildly" yell at you. You get punished either way, but it sucks way worse for quitting. Except for humps (aka hikes), never fall back on those.
Basically listen, realize you're going to fuck up, don't make stupid mistakes, and never get flustered.
Oh, and if going to Parris Island, drink tons of water all the time and eat plenty of food when you can. I saw many recruits go to the ICU because they didn't eat enough salty food, drank enough water to flush the salts out of their system, and collapse while screaming.
