Boot [Mass Market Paperback]

This book, published in 1987, is set in a time before the Crucible and some of the more recent innovations in training that were to take place during the Reagan and elder Bush eras. The Marine Corps was still struggling to redefine its mission and purpose, and having had some major tragedies like the bombing of the barracks in Beirut, public-relations and policy-wise, the Marine Corps was a low ebb in its fortunes. Indeed, there was serious discussion whether or not the Corps should continue to exist.

Da Cruz takes an up-close and personal look at boot camp through the eyes of actual participants. He constructs some composite characters and blends things together to form a tighter narrative, and also gives alias names to some recruits in Platoon 1036, 1985, the group he followed most closely.

In the first pages of the book, Da Cruz disspells some of the myths and misperceptions about who the Marine Corps are looking for. The Marine Corps is highly selective, and disqualifications include lack of education (particularly since not completing high school or a GED shows a lack of trainability), trouble with drugs, law enforcement, various physical disabilities, abnormal height and weight, and a few other things. Dependents are not absolutely disqualifying, but then as now certainly weigh against the potential recruit.

Da Cruz looks at the in-processing and recruitment stages, showing the care and attention the Marine Corps gives to its future in accepting potential recruits. He also looks at the special appeal of the Corps to young men. The Marine Corps didn't offer incentives, it offered challenges. This is true of the Marine Corps up to this day. While other services offer incentives to potential recruits, the first question a Corps recruiter will ask is `What can you offer the Corps?' The answer had better be a good one!

Da Cruz intersperses after every short section a piece of the history of the Corps. After looking at the initial shock treatment phase of receiving, from being screamed off the bus to getting the shaved head to being herded naked through various stations, Da Cruz then gives a brief overview of the history of the Corps, from the earliest days of formation in Tun Tavern in 1775 to the operations in Lebanon and Grenada in the 1980s.

Da Cruz looks with honesty at the emotions going through the minds of the recruits and the Drill Instructors. Most recruits are scared at first. So, in fact, are some Drill Instructors. There are a thousand ways to fail for each of them, and it is only through unrelenting focus that they all make it through. They may well depend on each other for the sake of their lives. This is the real world.

But, in fact, it is a different world. As Da Cruz points out in recounting the story of forming, recruits are introduced to an entirely new culture, one that requires a new language. There are no floors, there are decks. There are walls, there are bulkheads. Stairs are ladders. And woe to the recruit who has to go to the bathroom!

Throughout the rest of the book, organised as a chapter for each of the eleven weeks, Da Cruz highlights one or two particular recruits who either exemplify or struggle with the particular tasks of the week, or overall adjustment. However, the focus still remains on the platoon as a whole, in true Marine Corps fashion. This is a team effort. Following this discussion, Da Cruz looks at an historical or topical issue, but always comes back to the basic issue - the rigours of boot camp.

Da Cruz looks at the tensions between the desire to make boot camp and other training realistic and harsh versus the political and social pressures to keep it, as it is a publicly-known process, somewhat humane. It is clear that Da Cruz blames Congress and public-policy bureaucracy in addition to the proverbial `gold-star mother' who doesn't want to hear of her son being treated poorly.

In fairness, there has been abuse in the past that has gone far beyond even tough military training standards. The Ribbon Creek tragedy which resulted in a serious injury and death toll from training is no laughing matter, nor something that should be forgotten. However, many Drill Instructors and Marines feel the pendulum has swung too far. Some changes in the training have been instituted since the publication of Da Cruz's book, and Drill Instructors are given more to work with in achieving their goal of making Marines.

One can easily see that Da Cruz is himself a veteran of the Marine Corps. He is also one who cares that, during the decade after Vietnam (mid-70s to mid-80s) the Corps seemed to suffer a decline in many areas, one of which was the vital area of training for surviving combat in modern arenas.

Much has changed since Da Cruz wrote this book, but the same stories can be repeated over and over. Some of the recruits Da Cruz followed may indeed still be serving in the Marine Corps. Some might even be Drill Instructors now, preparing the next generation of Marines.

Da Cruz does encapsulate in an excellent way the esprit de corps of the Marine Corps, which is its most valuable asset.

Taken as a snapshot of the Marine Corps, particularly of the Corps during the 80s, this is an excellent book, even if biased in very definite directions that might make civilian readers a bit uneasy.