This coming week is my husbands last as a "recruit". On thursday, he will have completed the Crucible and recieved his EGA and the title, US Marine. But he has a bit of hell to go through before that happens.
Tomorrow, he will enter the gas chamber, one of the most horrible sounding experiences that the recruiter described to us. They will be forced to endure time in a sealed room filled with tear gas. I will never go through it, but I understand that it is a test of endurance that is a rite of passage for the recruits.
Then, on tuesday, they start the Crucible. I think. I am not sure about the start time, but I know that it is supposed to last for over two days and that when they are done, they will be Marines (or at the ceremony on thursday; not sure).
"The Crucible is the final test in recruit training, and represents the culmination of all of the skills and knowledge a Marine should possess. Designed in 1996[14] to emphasize the importance of teamwork in overcoming adversity, the Crucible is a rigorous 54-hour field training[1] exercise demanding the application of everything a recruit has learned until that point in recruit training, and includes a total of 48 miles of marching.[15] It simulates typical combat situations with strenuous testing, hardship, and the deprivation of food and sleep. A recruit is given three MREs (= Meal Ready-to-Eat, a self-contained, individual field ration, previously two and half) and four to eight hours of sleep through the entire 54-hour event." (Wikipedia)
So you can see that it is no walk in the park, but I know my Danny is ready for it. He is strong and stubborn and he will do fine. Its me who is stuck here at home, worrying about how he is feeling and doing.
I am grappling with the knowledge that I can not help him. In all of our hardships in the the last three years, we have done it together, but now it all falls on him. I can only support him from a distance. No hugs or kisses. Just letters promising that I will be praying for him.
However, this week signals that he will be home soon. In my arms and possibly holding our son in his.
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