No bags of chips here. At Camp Bsilone, you're completely immersed in the environment for your entire stay. At no time will course candidates or instructors break character. After your Course Application is approved, you'll receive an immersion packet. Inside this nondescript envelope are your Orders to report for Temporary Duty. It is important for you to memorize this impression, it is your " character" for your entire time at Camp Basilone.

What to expect

“It's 0600 Saturday morning. We just got back from a four-hour patrol. I can't believe that just yesterday morning my squad was lifting a telephone pole and running on a beach. Now, hours later what made us weak no longer exists. We are a team. In another hour we're going back into the bush. We're dropping in with the Infantry boys and running for cover. With luck, our intel will yield a successful mission and my squad won't see the comforts of Camp Basilone again for another 2-days. I take the opportunity to eat some hot chow. Just then, our Field Instructor (FI) came in and all my private thoughts ceased.

‘This is your sector. You have 48-hours to complete this evolution. Zulu X-ray reports enemy activity all over, that means that all contact will be hostile. This is your TAOR. (Tactical Area Of Responsibility) Infantry will search and destroy any hostile force. Reconners—I expect you to be invisible and get eyes and ears on enemy so that Infantry can deliver whoop-ass like there's no tomorrow. Remember, get to the PZ on time otherwise you’re humping back ladies.’

I looked at that small dot on the map. Extraction from the AO (Area of Operation) was across another grid line. That ensured our team would be in sight of a superior number of enemy forces. They weren't kidding, this really is a test of our skills, that AO was sure to be Hot.

We mounted up. The deuce and a half (truck) rolled up and rain was coming down in sheets. As we traveled to the Insertion Point I looked at my team, I was first up for Squad Leader rotation and the next 5 hours the men’s continuation in the program would be in my hands. If I screwed up, we'd likely all fail the course—no pressure. The truck slowed and we rolled out in a PLF (parachute landing fall) position so that our Recon element wouldn't be easily detected by enemy listening posts. The grunts were laughing at us—they'd get in, shoot up the enemy and get back to Camp for hot chow later that day. We were here for the duration.

‘'Let’s go!’ I silently signaled my squad as the forest swallowed us whole. Together we were armed with the most devastating weapon the Marine Corps could bestow on a man, knowledge and a rifle.” — M. Richards, MCHA Recon Graduate.