Parris Island
US President Barack Obama is expected to announce of sending more than 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan. Although marines are already fighting in southern Afghanistan but more will be thrust into the front line. Parris Island, South Carolina is a place where raw recruits are trained into elite fighting force of America. In America, Parris Island is one of the two bases where they trains marines. Squads of recruits can be seen marching, running and going through various assault courses in the base. Every year 22,000 new marines produced from this base.
The recruits are trained to swim loaded down with helmet, kit and rifle. 13 weeks is the duration of basic training, the graduates will be sent for specialist training and then to a combat unit. Last week Staff Sergeant Corey Nawrocki of the United States Marine Corps came home after serving five tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He said,
“It feels good to be home.”
After serving the last seven months in Afghanistan he just returned to his station on Parris Island in South Carolina. He earned three Purple Hearts for wounds incurred in combat during his six deployments. He said,
“When you’re first hit you check your arms and legs, after that you check on others,”
Nawrocki graduated from North Penn High School then he arrived at boot camp on Parris Island that August. Nawrocki and his fellow Marines were part of the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003. He said,
“It was a big unknown,”
He added,
“You didn’t know what to expect. You didn’t know how many days you were going out on patrol or when you were coming back.”
About his experience of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan he said,
“You don’t know whose good or bad, so you see everyone as good and hope nothing goes bad.”
He said the war is working and we have to show patience. He said,
“But it takes time. People need to be patient,”
He added,
“We’re doing great things over there. It’s hard to earn the people’s trust, but once you do, and once they experience freedom, they don’t want to let it go.”
