We had a blast last week with St. Louis and Milwaukee educators in San Diego getting a first-hand look at what training and life are like for Marines, as you can tell from the photos below and the webcasts on our sister site.
Chicago & Kansas City educators are at boot camp in San Diego this week, so feel free to post questions here that you’d like to ask educators from your area about their experience, and we’ll do our best to get answers from them for you. Of course, stay tuned for their stories.
Midwest high school educators overran the bayonet assault course at Marine Corps boot campin San Diego Tuesday. More than half of the 70 Midwest Marines Educators Workshopparticipants from Milwaukee and St. Louis screamed, ran, crawled, crossed rope bridges, climbed walls and bayoneted dummies amidst the sights and sounds of battle during the week-long program that makes them experts on Marine Corps basics.
Here's what it sounded like for a four-person team from Illinois and Missouri, which also seemed to have a pretty good time.
My college freshman daughter is attending a terrific university this year with tuition, fees, books, housing and a small stipend all paid for by the Post 9-11 GI Bill; and it truly cost me nothing. This occured to me as I moved her from one school to another this week with very little anxiety, which will likely floor other parents who've pulled thier hair out after a son or daughter decided the first choice just wasn't what they'd expected.
I never signed up for the Montgomery GI Bill when enlisting in 1988 because it sounded too good to be true, and I did not trust the government at its word (the irony is not lost, I assure you). This simple act of defiance – or “lack” of action -- haunted me for more than 20 years as my singular regret to military service (and I could not even claim that my recruiter lied to me). Alternatively, I spent years going to school at night to attain my degree using the 100% tuition assistance offered to all active duty members. Still a good deal, but challenging as any working parent pursuing their education can tell you.
I was about to give up a 20-year mission to make up for that initial mistake when rumors of the Post 9-11 program surfaced in late 2008. This godsend for military members went active in August 2009 – a month before my daughter started school. The VA website has the details, but this program replaced that singular regret with a promise for the future that is a true gift to American service members!
Thoughts of the four upcoming Midwest Marines Educators Workshop trips to San Diego are helping us stay warm as temperatures plummet and snow piles up across America’s heartland. A few seats are still available for high school teachers and faculty (and a few members of the media) to experience Marine Corps recruit training first hand and free of charge between February and June. I’m glad I’ll be joining the firsts groups from Milwaukee and Saint Louis at the end of February – I’m ready to go right now (after shoveling my way out of the driveway, of course)!
While it’s no dog and pony show and the days are long, groups from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Western Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Northwestern Arkansas and parts of the Dakotas tour recruit training, a major Marine Corps base, and an air station. Most importantly, no question is off limits, and educators can even speak to the actual recruits currently going through boot camp; it’s pretty awesome when teachers come across their former students in training!
The video below gives a nice overview of the program, and there are numerous news reports online from reporters who’ve joined us. Drop us a comment if you need help finding one of the reports from Midwestern media outlets.
The MIDWEST MARINES run US Marine Corps recruiting operations in the Midwestern United States. Based in Kansas City, MO, and formally known as the 9th Marine Corps District, our eight Midwest Marines Recruiting Stations cover Minnesota, Wisconsin, Western Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Northwestern Arkansas and most of the Dakotas. Check out bios of our contributors at http://midwestmarines.posterous.com.
Please be frank and candid, as we will be. However, posts containing inflammatory or foul language, racial or ethnic slurs, extremist propaganda, advertising, anti-American sentiments, or links to these types of sites (except in reference to current news or other relevant reference) will be removed promptly with a request sent to the author to repost without prohibited content.
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