U.N.E. Book Two: Precipice (ON HOLD)

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Somehow, by some miracle, Alexander had survived Phase One of the Marine Corps Boot Camp, and as they moved into the second month, the even tougher Phase Two was beginning. The first week started out innocuous enough, with near constant close order drill and PT, but half way through the week the recruits learned that they would soon be tested on their drill, and a failing grade was not acceptable. This was mostly due to the fact that, along with the recruits, the junior most DI was also being graded during the test; which was something that had most of the recruits on edge.

No one wanted to be the reason their DI yelled at everyone, and if you were to mess up during the test then it was a guarantee that they would all be in trouble. So because of this they all tried to get their act together and do what needed to be done, going so far as to ask for more time out on the parade grounds to get down the parts that they were struggling on. Which, for some of them—including Alex—was most of it. He had trouble keeping time with the others and would often let his rifle dip a little when he was holding it.

Spirits were low going into the test. Their last practice had been absolutely abysmal, and it had ended with Sergeant Franklin yelling at them for close to thirty minutes. The large man had been in such a rage that he tossed garbage cans across the squad bay, pulled apart a few beds, and then told everyone to unlock their footlockers and dump the contents into the middle of the bay. When everything had been gathered, the recruits only had one and a half minutes to go through everything and gather there own stuff up and put it away. Those who didn't find everything were sent to the Pit, which was a large sandpit outside the House where the DI's sent recruits who needed extra punishment. Alex himself had been in the Pit a few times, doing PT until it felt like he was going to pass out cold. Thankfully, he hadn't been one of the poor recruits who had to do it then.

The morning of the Initial Drill had been chilly and overcast. The recruits were marched out onto the parade ground where two other regiments were gathered as well, and then, one by one, they were tested. Alex's regiment was the last to go, and they went through the movements that had been hammered into their minds with as much precision as they could muster under the circumstances. There were a few small hiccups—like one of the recruits not being able to get his rifle strap undone—but it went fairly smoothly; which surprised not only them, but their DI's as well.

They had managed to get a passing grade, but only barely. And while they had made it through that test unscathed, they were quickly informed that during their final phase there would be another drill test, and this one would be overseen by the base commander himself. To get a passing grade in that test, the recruits would need to fix everything that had messed up this time around, and all come together in a way they hadn't done before. It was a daunting task, but for now none of them tried to worry about it. There were other things to do before their final month, and now things were getting even tougher.

The second week of Phase Two was something the Drill Instructors called Grass Week, and was basically the starting point for the recruits in their journey to becoming qualified with their rifles. Most of this week was spent inside a class room, learning about the basic marksmanship principles and how to fire efficiently, while the rest of the time was out on the range learning the firing positions they would be tested on—standing, kneeling, sitting, and prone. However, even though they were learning how to fire their rifles, not once were they actually given live rounds. In fact, they weren't given anything and instead were firing imaginary rounds at the targets down range.