Mom Got a Letter Dated Aug. 21st

Summarized below

It's Sunday morning and there's not too much going on, it's free time and a lot of the guys are at church or outside. I didn't go to church today b/c we had a "Tornado" yesterday and I have to organize my stuff. A Tornado is when your foot locker gets dumped and all your stuff gets skattered all over the place with everyone else's stuff. Tornadoes are one of the worst things about boot camp. I quickly grab up my letters and stick them in my pants and my address book and put it in my pocket b/c those are the most important things to me.

We're now at the rifle range and will be here for the next 4 weeks. We humped here 6 miles, it's not a long hike but we had to carry all of our gear on our backs. By the time we got here I was so sweaty it looked like I had jumped in a pool, I was soaked.

We are now in phase 2 and we got desert cammies (sp?) w/ USMC and our last name on them which was motivating.Now that we are in this phase everything has to be perfect even more so than before.

We just finished grass week which means we sit in the shooting position for hours for practice and to train our muscles.

The other day I guess I did something wrong and the DI kicked my ass physically and kept yelling at me to say "I quit". It is all mental, he kept pushing harder and harder and yelling at me, but I made it through and didn't give in.

Miss you all and think about you all. Love, Erick

Feel free to email me if you have any questions, comments, complaints about Geeps etc. kellyhoulihan@hotmail.com

Senior Drill Instructor Posted Today

Staff Sergeant Farrell posted about Erick's platoon today. I have cut and pasted his posting below.

The platoon is doing well, today is the 2nd day of firing week and the recruits are shooting very well. They are learning how to properly fill out their data books, manipulate the sights on the weapon and most importantly how to apply all the shooting fundamentals that they learned last week. As far as 4Rel's annual qualification goes, lets just say I was robbed for 5 points, now I am a sharpshooter instead of a 6th award expert. It happens, even to the best of us. I will post later in the week with more news updates.
SEMPER FI
SDI 1083

I GOT A LETTER!!!

I got my first letter from Erick this Friday, Aug. 26th!! It was dated August 17th. and is below.

Dear Tom and Kelly, Hope that you are doing well and enjoying the new furniture. Boot camp is still pretty tough but a big part that helps me through it are the letters I have been getting and thank you for. Sometimes I forget that there's another world off this sh*tty island so i enjoy reading every word the letters contain. We've been pretty busy here, always on the move and doing something. We did a confidence course which was a lot of I guess you could call it fun or a decent time as an activity down here. As the days go by they expect more and more out of us both physically and mentally so it gets tough. Everything always has to be neat. No wrinkles in the racks, perfectly laced boots, perfect gear, always clean, it is crazy how like OCD these bastards are. For the past week we've been getting ready for the rifle range which we're humping out to this Saturday. It's only 6 miles, but with everything except our racks and foot lockers it's gonna be a looong 6 miles. I'm not too nervous about the range b/c next week we have the entire week dedicated to learning them from inside out. Muscle relaxation, breathing, maintenance, damn everything you can think of. I gotta get going, but I miss you and Kelly enjoy hearing from you. Getting a letter is the best feeling down here. About a month and a half of this crap and I'm done. Hope to hear from you soon. Love, Erick

WHO'S GONNA MILK THE COW?

I was just reading the message boards and one lady was sharing that her ewe just gave birth to a geep and they named it Boots. I too had never heard of a geep, but now know that it's a mix between a goat and a sheep. I also know what it looks like as someone posted a picture of one (see below). Then another lady asked if Boots' mom had found someone to milk her Jersey Cows so she could attend the graduation because she was having a hard time finding someone to milk her cows. I think we should get a cow and Thomas can stay home to milk! Just kidding Toz ;) I think I am becoming a Parris Island message board junkie. Do they have "Message Board Anonymous"? Erick needs to write another letter soon so you don't have to be bored to death with geep and cow stories.

A GEEP

Erick's Senior Drill Instructor Says...

I have been reading a message board on a pretty daily basis to get an idea of what Erick is doing every day and how his platoon is doing. A few of the drill instructors participate in the message boards and update the board about their platoon. Platoon 1083 is one of the lucky ones with a Senior Drill Instructor who participates on the boards, answers parents' questions and posts occasional updates. I am cutting and pasting his latest one.

"1083 Family & Friends,
I am shooting on the range this week for my annual qualification, so I am not with the PLT a lot, but everyday I do speak with the PLT'S PMI (Primary Marksmanship Instructor) and he tells me that the recruits are asking all the right questions and they seem to be quick learners. Most of the recruits are intimidated by next week, when we start firing, but they are excited and eager to face the challange. Tonight my Drill Instructors and I worked the PLT in their sitting position and for the most part all the positions liked pretty decent. Perfect practice will make perfect. Last Friday we had the TD-28 PFT, lets just say nobody failed, but the SDI is not happy with the PLT'S scores, I know they could have been better, we also had the 50 question test which we took 3rd place in, not happy about that either. During the practice testing that my Drill Instructors did every recruit scored 100's. I guess the pressure got to them. Do not worry to much about your future Marine, they are in good hands.
Semper Fi
SDI 1083"

2 More Letters

LETTER ONE

Recapped via phone from MOM...
All is well. We are very busy. We are into week 6 and it is kind of getting better. I had my first conversation with another recruit. We had our Swim Qualifications. The first part was a breeze. The second part was much harder, you had to jump off a 10 foot platform in full gear, wearing boots, kevlar vest, helmet, rifle and pack and swim. Part of you just wanted to give up and drown so you can get out of the pool, but the other part makes you keep swimming and pushing and fighting.

We also had to do an obstacle course and at the end climb a 30-40 foot tower and climb down a rope that is at an angle to the ground and change your position 3 times. It kills your arms and legs, but I did it on the first try.

I think this is what he is talking about with the ropes? But I am not positive

THE SECOND LETTER

In this letter he talks about swim quals again and talks about starting practice for the rifle range. The rifle range part of camp involves getting to know your weapon inside and out. It was a short letter. We'll let you know as we hear more.

I THINK I SEE HIM!!!

What do you think? I think it's him. If only that guys stupid gun wasn't in the way! Click on the picture to make it bigger.

Another Letter

Mom etc. received another letter from Erick yesterday...Please see recap below

We've been doing a lot of marshall arts training. Learning how to take someone down, reverse chokes and all that good stuff.
We've been doing a lot of gas chamber drills which is pretty crazy. We have to take off our masks in a room full of gas and do drills. It's not too bad, but the areas of skin that aren't covered get burned and it makes your nose run like Niagra Falls.

Tuesday the 9th is a contest called Initial Drill, so every free moment is spent drilling. The Drill Instructors continue to kick our asses and break us down.
A few kids have gotten into fights and there are a few weak kids who let everything get to them.

The food is not so bad. You only get about 3 minutes to eat, so I'm not sure if I'm just really hungry or if the food is decent.

My weapon is an M-16 A-2 powered rifle, not an M-60. Everywhere I go, it goes.

I have almost no free time, I'll write more when I can. Please keep writing, I love getting your letters.

Don't worry too much, I'm doing OK. Love, Erick.

Initial Drill

I just read that Erick's Platoon came in 2nd at "Initial Drill". I had no idea what that meant so did some research and cut and pasted a description below. They get points awarded for the drill. The platoon that came in first was 5 points ahead of Erick's. I don't know how many points they can get. They also get points for "Final Drill". Whichever platoon has the most combined points from both drills gets a trophy at graduation. Apparently this is a rather coveted trophy as it shows which platoon is the best overall.

Drill is the basic way in which platoons march and move from place to place. At first, recruits will practice just staying in step with the rest of the platoon and the drill instructor. However, as training continues, the platoon becomes more synchronized, capable of more complex drill movements. During recruit training, platoons will also compete in two drill competitions (Initial Drill and Final Drill). Drill is mainly used to instill discipline, team pride and unit cohesion.

Address Update

Please address envelopes to Erick in the following format. The other way works, but this way is the officially proper way.

Recruit Lohse, Frederick O.
Plt. 1083, 1st BN, A Co.
PO Box 11083
MCRD Parris Island, SC 29905-1083

We Got Another Letter

Erick wrote the most recent letter in his second week of Boot Camp. Again, I don't have the actual letter, so I will sum it up from mom's reading of it to me over the phone.

Boot camp isn't that bad, it is just annoying. You only get to say 3 things, "Aye Sir", "Yes Sir" and "No Sir". Living with other kids makes it better. Most of them are 17-19 years old. His Rack mate is 19, fat and smelly, but he's a nice kid. They have been doing Pugil Sticks which is kind of like American Gladiators and prepares them for bayonet training. It is fun, but intense.

That's a picture of Pugil Stick Training I found on a webiste. I am not sure if Erick wears a helmet or not because he talked about getting to call home if you knock the other guys mouth guard out...

He counts the days from meal to meal and looks forward to Sundays because he gets 3 free hours on Sunday. He uses the free time to organize his things and go to church. He really enjoys going to church because it is relaxing and the church itself is beautiful. The stained glass windows depict Marine scenes.

From the windows of his bunk he can see the Parade Deck (as seen in this pic)

where graduation occurs and he can see other recruits graduating and celebrating with their families and he can't wait until that day. Through the other window he can see the South Carolina coast line, but between the barracks and the ocean is a large swamp. So, he guesses he's stuck there until he gets to graduate... He misses everyone and thinks about us all, even Molly and Sunny Bird.

That's about it for this letter. I'll let you know when the next one comes in.