The psychology of Marine Corps Basic Training and its importance developed over decades. Usually it just developed organically, by trial and error, but once accepted, once inculcated into the soul of the recruit, it became doctrine. For ALL Marines. We are special. For a reason. We are made special by the Company Gunny, the Senior Drill Instructor and his crazy as fuck Assistant Drill Instructors. They live for it. We Marines have a narrow mission. A mission that can’t be compromised. They kill everything we bring to bootcamp that gets in the way of “one shot, one kill” thinking. We create legends everyplace we go. Because we don’t do this for the money. We do this for the fucking glory. This is baked into every member of the Navy Department. But Marines especially. They took us at 17 and created a Golem to protect American interests all over the globe. Golems like delivering a violent end to evil people. What makes Marine Corps Basic is legend in scope and practice. Drill instructors are gifted with the privilege of taking maggot civilians, destroying them, and then giving them the incredibly rare and powerful gift of “Embrace the Suck.” It’s magic and it is beautiful to behold. If you are reading this and aren’t a Marine you may call bullshit. That would be okay because we don’t fucking care. We just want to be in a position to die for you if that’s what it comes to. We don’t need to listen to your intolerant bullshit or watch you kill babies. We don’t want to risk our lives for you when you throw it in our faces. But we will. And we do. Without a second thought. Because we swore our lives to it. We will because WE REALLY ARE NOT THE SAME.