Customer Reviews

The Crucible: Making Marines for the 21st Century

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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This video really captures the emotion and pride felt when one becomes a Marine. Being one who doesn't accept change easily, I was reluctant to accept this new and improved recruit training event called the Crucible. Truth is, I wish this had been around when I went through some 40 years ago. The folks at Good-To-Go Video continue to produce quality programs for those who are the friends of the Corps. Well done.!

If you want to understand the process the Marine Corps uses to recruit, train and orient new Marines to the requirements of Marine Corps life and duties, this will be a good video. While much has changed over the past 235+ years since the Marine Corps was founded, recruit training has, and always will be, a rite of passage. For those considering enlisting, this video will provide an overview of what awaits a new recruit. For those whose family members are Marine Corps enlisted, this can provide insight to the values that are at the heart of the Marine Corps. For those seeking to understand how the Marine Corps develops men and women to be part of a high performance team, this video will answer some of those questions as well. The video only includes Paris Island and MCRD San Diego; for those preparing for Officer Candidate School this video will have less to offer. Ron Tucker does a great job of sharing the "emotion" of being part of the Corps.

After the first 20 minutes of the video, it finally got into the actual Crucible- which is what I had bought it for. My son, who is the Marine, would talk very little about the ordeal, except for a few Warrior Stations and the dreaded ascencion up the Hill and I had heard only snippets from other, so I was very interested to see what he had gone through.
The first 20 minutes were the initial Boot Camp experineces which I had already seen in the Discovery Channel and Documentary Channel various productions and they were well worth the separate purchases. I didn't know that the recruits had to undergo a variety of training models including on your back crawls in pools of water under barbed wire with full pack and rifle. Not to mention the machine gun fire over the fencing. This added to the experience of being there without actually being there.

I found this DVD so very helpful when my son was in bootcamp at Parris Island. I am happy that I did not see it before he left for boot camp. It is a very "in your face" explanation of how Marines are made. The director takes us through the journey of young undisciplined civilians and their complete transformation. We have the opportunity to see groups of Marines meet several of the challenges in The Crucible and the teamwork required to complete each task.

The part that was most disturbing for me was the "in your face" approach of the drill sargents--and often a few at a time screaming at a recruit. How do they handle this stress? I wonder how the drill sargents do not have heart attacks! However, it is a fascinating DVD and so worth owning.

Is someone you love in Marine boot camp? This book will help you visualize what your loved one is going through. Very insightful.