Going outside and around the base, we got to see the everyday existence of recruits going through the training cycle.

	I caught a platoon coming down the road as we were leaving. Notice the yellow reflector stripes that indicate they are brand new to the base.
	The recruit on the corner is getting a lesson on how to be a road guard.
	Notice they are all wearing tennis shoes because, I assume, they are not used to their boots yet. Or maybe they are going to medical to have their fee checked and tennis shoes are easy to get on and off.
	The DI will normally stay about 3/4 of the way back so the bulk of the formation can hear him clearly. He's "driving the bus."
	The DI halts them to give an ad hoc lesson. Being brand new, they look completely nasty.
	Notice some of the recruits have their heads turned, trying to align to their right.
	Of course this is unacceptable and the DI starts going off. Also note that there is a tall recruit in the middle. They have not organized the formation according to height yet. Slim will end up in the front.
	"WE CAN PLAY THIS GAME ALL DAY, LADIES!!!" as he swings his arms back and forth in a playful manner. It's really scary when they do this.
	Then there is the long pause and he stares the platoon down. This uncomfortable silence is a very powerful psychological weapon. You don't know what to expect next but you know it can't be good. But in truth, the DI is probably thinking about what he will be having for dinner if he gets home tonight.
	In the very front of the platoon is the guide. He will eventually have a guidon to carry when they are dropped to their permanent DIs in about a week.
	All of the trees in Parris Island have this moss hanging off the branches, giving them a spooky look. It reminded me of the Whomping Willow from the Harry Potter stories.
	Heading over to the parade deck, I caught a DI and his squad leaders practicing. If they can get the squad leaders to execute, the platoon will follow.
	Another platoon came marching up, getting in the way of the other platoon. You gotta love the boldness of DIs in general.
	It's had to tell but if you look closely, this platoon is executing a column left. Notice the recruits in the back have not made the turn and where you see the DI standing, he is making sure they make a sharp pivot.
	More squad leader work. The flagpoles parallel the road and the Iwo Jima statue marks the middle of the parade ground. The rope got loose from the statue and the colors were billowing off.
	The DI is correcting the recruit as he marches. You never want to be "The One."
	A great pose of the lone DI. Classic stance.
	They practiced one move the whole time I stood there. Anyone who says that DIs have no patience has never seen them working to perfect a movement.
	This Drill Instructor, any Drill Instructor, is a master at not only performing drill but at teaching drill.
	Another picture of a different Whomping Willow. I imagined the moss was the built up stress from a million recruits passing through this base.
	As I walked past, I discovered they had been practicing in the parking lot and not the actual parade deck. Here, the "broken" recruits sit, drink water, and study their knowledge while their platoon practices. I thought it funny that they were made to sit in the disabled parking spaces.
	Another DI runs his squad leaders through the paces. I never got to be a squad leader or any leadership billet when I was a recruit. Its ironic that I'm the only one still in (as far as I know) and that I'm an officer now.
	Here they are checking their "distance."
	This would have been a better picture if the colors were not hanging off. I tried to see if I could fix it but didn't want to be crawling all over the statue in my civvies and it wasn't readily apparent how or where it attached. My ego would not allow me to fail so I wimped out and didn't try.
	This is the plate on the statue. For a great book about these Marines (and Sailor), read Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley.
	A front view of the statue. It was neat to see a close up, 3-dimentional view of the most famous pose in history.
	A view from the other side; a view no one ever sees.
	The other side of the statue. Here you can see the sixth man; one that some people claim was not there because you can't see him in the original shot. It's his hand that is the reported "extra hand" that some say represents the Hand of God. Rubbish.
	It's called the Peatross Parade Deck and this is why.

Quick links to the other sets of this series:

• Set 1: Arriving on The Island
• Set 2: Watching Recruits In The Wild
• Set 3: More Wild Recruits
• Set 4: Squadbay Visit
• Set 5: Historical Sites

Email -- jason@grose.us
Web -- http://www.grose.us/