Not only is the life of a Marine hard, but the process to becoming one is a struggle in itself. Over the next 5 weeks I'll be discussing the rigorous process of becoming a Marine and surviving life in the United States Marine Corps.

As we begin week one of our Intro to Marine series, we start with joining the Delayed Entry Program, or as it's better known as, the DEP. The first step is simply speaking with a recruiter. They may seem a little hard on you at first, but once you get to know them, and vice versa, you'll find they're just people too. If you're serious about it, they will make every effort to help make you a Marine. With becoming a Marine, comes paperwork... a lot of paperwork! Most of the paper work you will fill out is done at the Marine Entrance Processing Station, or MEPS.

MEPS is where most of the action takes place before you are an official poolee of the Marine Corps. A poolee is someone who has sworn into the Marine Corps but hasn't left for bootcamp yet. At MEPS, you will fill out a metric fuck ton of paper work, medical documents, and documents concerning your past. You will also be provided with a full medical screening, a waiting room where you'll be spending most of your time, and a plethora of civilians, enlisted, and officers to keep you the fuck awake. Let me tell you first hand, if you fall asleep, you're in for a world of hurt and you may be denied entrance into the DEP. But, if you can make it past this phase and you swear in, you're in the DEP!

Life in the DEP is as hard as you make it. For the most part, you're just waiting for the chance to ship out to bootcamp. Your local recruiting office should hold monthly poolee functions in order to keep you in shape and ready to go when your time finally arrives. If your recruiters are as motivated as mine, you may have PT, or physical training, every morning. This way, you're sure to be a success and a great Marine.

Only thing you have to do past the DEP is go to bootcamp and graduate to become a United States Marine. In next week's article, we'll discuss bootcamp and tips for surviving. Semper Fidelis and skate on.