Big brother's choice not for me

by Brant Thurmond, editorial assistant

Last March, my life and my family’s life changed dramatically.

My brother left to pursue his dream of being a United States Marine. 

On June 15, he graduated from boot camp at M.C.R.D in San Diego, Calif. The changes that he went through during a 12-week period were very noticeable. He went in at 230 pounds and came out weighing 195. 

The Marine Corps is known for its intensive 12-week training. The Marines’ boot camp is said to be the toughest of any military branch.

During the training period, recruits will be taught courage, commitment, teamwork and self-discipline. They will be taught how to how to survive in combat conditions, swim with 60-pound packs on their backs, fire weapons at a rifle range and engage in other physically-challenging events.

If you knew my brother before, he was a fairly big guy and rather muscular. While in high school, he participated in football, basketball, track and tennis. However, after graduation in 2003, he had been known to party a lot. This eventually made him develop a “beer belly.” 

With the determination and right goals in mind, he joined the Marines. When he graduated from boot camp, he came out as a PFC or Private First Class, with a meritorial promotion from his senior drill instructor. After a 10-day leave, he went to Camp Pendleton, Calif. for intensive training school. Before he graduated on Aug. 26, he was promoted to Lance Corporal. He got promoted by being in the top 5 percent of his class.

Even though I have seen the success my brother has been having during the past few months, I still say it is not for me.

During the past several months, I had been talking to recruiters about joining the Marines. But I recently came to the conclusion that I do not want to enlist.

In July, I went to Lubbock and worked out with the future recruits and recruiters. We ran 3.5 miles and did several other drills after the run. I can say that this was very challenging for me, because I did nothing over the summer until the end of July, when I started working.

I have called my brother numerous times to talk to him about enlisting every time a recruiter came to my apartment, and time after time he has told me NOT to sign up. He says I will not like it.

Truth be known, I look up to my brother, and I respect his opinion for all that it’s worth. After all, he’s the only brother I will ever have. It’s not only that, but I have heard the threats come from him repeatedly. If you have a bigger brother, than you can imagine the threats I have received about getting my tail whooped.

It is not that I don’t think I could make it through boot camp, it’s the fact that I may not like it and I would be stuck with it for several years. I have a friend that has an older brother who was in the Corp for five years, and he left in August. He doesn’t care for it too much, but knows he is in it for a while. On the other hand, I have a friend who graduated from high school in May, left for the Marines right after graduation, and he loves it. So it all boils down to the person. Some people will say “Yeah, it is for me,” and others will say “What the heck did I just get myself into?’

I have decided to stay in school. I have told many people that I was thinking about it seriously, especially during the summer. But now I have told a couple of recruiters that I just want to wait and see what college has in store for me.