Announcements from What's After Boot

If it's new on the What's After Boot website, you'll find an announcement about it here. We bring new resources, events and information to the website frequently.

Deployment: Embassies

Learn about the force that provides security for United States embassies around the world.

1/6/2025

One of the most visible functions of the United States Marine Corps is the Marine Special Duty Detail. This is the force that provides Embassy security duty for United States Facilities around the world.


Communicating a Family Emergency to Your Deployed Marine

Notifying your Marine of an emergency is best done through the American Red Cross.

1/6/2025

Things are different in the military. If your family has an emergency, how do you let your recruit or deployed Marine know about it? While we all hope that we don't need to know, it's better to be prepared and understand the next steps for notifying your loved one who is serving our country. This article is an essential read to gain that understanding no matter where your recruit or Marine are in their journey.

If you have a family emergency during your Marine's deployment and feel you need to contact the Marine, your best action is to contact the American Red Cross. Please be aware that contact from the Red Cross will alert your Marine to a serious condition at home. The Red Cross has guidelines they must follow for qualifying emergency notification to your Marine. The Red Cross can be contacted for birth announcements of a Marine's new baby.


Becoming a Marine Parent

A 13-Week Journey for You, Too.

1/6/2025

Your loved ones have enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and now YOUR journey begins as well. As they get ready to leave for boot camp they are busy preparing for their career as one of "The Few, The Proud." One of the most important steps for loved ones at home is already completed! You have joined Recruit Parents and are well on your way to becoming informed, educated and supported by others experiencing the same emotions.


Marine Corps Challenge Coins

Do you know about the tradition of carrying the challenge coin?

1/5/2025

Among the Marine Corps' many traditions is the carrying of the challenge coin, and it is rooted in history dating back to World War I.

Today, service members possess many medallions, or challenge coins, bearing their organization's insignia. These coins are often presented by high-ranking officers for a job well done, which is a great honor. They are also sometimes traded between men and women in a unit.


Deployment Pages on Marine Parents

About Deployment, OPSEC, Emergencies, and Support

1/5/2025

Got a deployment looming? In the middle of deployment? It happens and Marines love it, but their family members, not so much. Remember, information is power. Here's what you need to know to lessen the bumps in the road.

I had two sons and a daughter-in-law deployed at the same time: two soldiers and one Marine. This website was my go-to every single morning. It was my saving grace. I never did find an Army site like this one, but you helped me through that, as well. Thank you.
—Jackie, Marine Mom in Missouri, 2006


Weather Emergencies & Boot Camp

Natural Disasters During Recruit Training

1/5/2025

Any area of the country is subject to natural disasters. The Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) at Parris Island is subject to hurricanes. The Marine Corps Recruit Depot at San Diego, as well as other bases in the San Diego-area, are subject to fires. Being informed and understanding how the Marine Corps handles a natural disaster will help you feel confident that your son or daughter will be safe during boot camp, regardless of environmental factors.


Marine Corps Boot Camp Terminology and Acronyms

Learn some of the earliest terminology your recruit is taught during boot camp.

1/4/2025

There are literally thousands of acronyms in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and all branches of the military and there are hundreds of new terms to learn. This reference is a starting point for recruit families—those that are most important to learn during recruit training. After graduation, there are additional resources with more terminology on the primary website for MarineParents.com. But these are the most important to learn at this time.


The Commandant and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps

Learn about the highest-ranking officer and enlisted Marine in the Marine Corps.

1/4/2025

The Commandant of the Marine Corps commands the United States Marine Corps and is the senior officer of the United States Marine Corps. The Commandant is not necessarily the highest-ranking officer in the Marine Corps, but holding the position of Commandant makes him senior to all other officers regardless of rank.

The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is selected by the Commandant of the Marine Corps and serves as the senior enlisted advisor to the Commandant. The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is revered as the most outstanding, unparalleled enlisted Marine.


Knowledge is Power!

Learn more about what's after boot camp!

1/4/2025

Everything you need to know about what comes after Marine Corps Boot Camp Recruit Training. What's the next phase of training for your newly minted Marine? Our website map for "What's After Boot" breaks it down into articles for you.


Your Recruit is a Recruit, Not a Marine

What it means to say the title is earned, never given

1/3/2025

This page of our website includes several great articles to read during the first week your recruit is in boot camp. In the Marine Corps, a recruit must earn the title of United States Marine. A recruit is not a Marine when they enlist. A recruit is not a Marine when they step on the yellow footprints.


Red Friday: Our Historical Participation

Written by Tracy Della Vecchia, Our Founder

1/3/2025

Are you wearing red today? There are many variances of how "Red Friday" got started in the United States. While I can't state whether or not those accounts are accurate, I can share how we adopted the phrase as an organization to promote wearing red on Fridays.


MCRD San Diego Graduations

A Great Hotel 2 Miles from MCRD!

1/3/2025

Town and Country Resort, located in San Diego’s Mission Valley neighborhood, is just 2 miles to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot and offers a comfortable and fun option for military families. Recently renovated with an authentic mid-century modern design and a friendly Southern California vibe, the resort is an ideal home base for a San Diego stay.

The resort offers a comfortable guestroom, 3 pools, a 4-story waterslide named “Twister,” 5 restaurants and bars, a penthouse fitness center with Peloton bikes, and 19 fire pits. It is pet and family-friendly with a 3-acre attached park and a host of family activities. The resort is within walking distance of Fashion Valley Mall and provides easy access to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, beaches, and area attractions.

Making Reservations
Special rates for military families are available when you book using the RESERVE link:


IRR Obligations and Requirements

Learn about the requirements for the Individual Ready Reserve.

1/2/2025

All Marines are required to go through the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) after their initial active-service comes to an end, unless he or she chooses to reenlist.

A Marine who wishes to remain in the IRR must be in good standing and continue to uphold the traditions of honorable service. Additionally, that Marine must accrue a minimum of 50 Reserve Retirement Credit Points during their Anniversary Year* (failure to do so can lead to denial of reenlistments/extensions for enlisted Marines and discharge for both officers and enlisted Marines).


Addressing Letters to Recruits

Be sure to properly address letters to your recruit so they arrive as quickly as possible.

1/2/2025

During the first two weeks of recruit training, recruits will send home a letter stating they've made it to MCRD and will provide an address for which to receive mail.

All mail is routed through the only mail office on the depot. Your mail will not reach your recruit without the correct COMPANY AND PLATOON NUMBER. The mail office will see that information and sort the mail to that company and platoon. The company and platoon information will be listed on the letter your recruit sends home about 2 - 3 weeks into training.


CACO Terminology

Casualty Terminology During Deployment

1/2/2025

A casualty is a member of the military unable to fulfill their duties due to death or incapacitation by injury or illness. For families of our military, the term "casualty" conjures up images of destruction and death. It's a tough term to grapple with when you've got a Marine deployed or soon to be deploying.

However, knowledge is power, and we firmly believe that educated families are better able to handle the rollercoaster of deployment emotions. So, let's dig into some terminology and procedures.


Structure of a Marine Corps Regiment

Learn how a Marine Corps Regiment is structured from top to bottom.

1/1/2025

The United States Marine Corps is a unique branch of the US military and is organized as part of the Department of the Navy. With over 241 years of warfighting experience and distinct prestige, the Marine Corps has mastered the art of military structure.


Corps Respect: A Family Value

What is it all about? What do Marines call it?

1/1/2025

By now you've likely heard some new terminologies from your recruit or through reading information about the Marine Corps. While trying to get yourself wrapped around the meanings of some of these new terms, you may be seeing the same theme throughout, but you've not really been successful at labeling that term.


Individual Ready Reserve Information

For many Marines, the end of active-duty is not the end of their Marine Corps career.

1/1/2025

All Marines are required to go through the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) after their initial active service comes to an end unless he or she chooses to reenlist. If a recruit enlists prior to the required age of enlistment, he or she would be placed in the Delayed Entry Program. The benefit of the Delayed Entry Program is that it counts towards the time spent in the IRR after separation from the service. So, if your Marine was in delayed entry for one year, he or she would only be in the IRR for 3 years after separation.


Wisdom Teeth

If necessary, boot camp is the best time to have wisdom teeth removed.

12/31/2024

The Marine Corps has made it a common practice to remove wisdom teeth during boot camp. While every situation is different, the reasons are usually the same.

MarineParents.com Founder and executive director, Tracy Della Vecchia, has told a story of her son, Derrick, getting his wisdom teeth removed while he was in the Marine Corps. Only, Derrick's wisdom teeth weren't removed during boot camp. His unit was in Japan conducting training when his were removed. Soon after, the unit got the call that they were going to Iraq. Derrick sat on the plane with bloody rags in his mouth and spent his first few days in combat healing. There are many stories out there just like this one. So if your recruit has to get their wisdom teeth removed in boot camp, be thankful; it's much better than on deployment.


Can You Help Us?

Volunteer Print Graphic Design Needed

12/31/2024

We have an immediate need for a print graphic designer to work with the executive director and several key volunteers to develop a new printed Marine Corps Recruit Training Matrix. We no longer employ graphic designers in house.

This is a volunteer position. The work would require between 20-30 hours of design work using Adobe InDesign to prepare a 2-sided print-ready 11x17 training matrix. The skill base required would be highly proficient in Adobe InDesign with the ability to prepare documents to be published at a commercial printer.

Can you help us or do you know someone who can? Please forward this message to people you may know that could help.

If you are interested, we ask that you complete a Google Form which goes directly to Tracy Della Vecchia, the founder and executive director of the organization. The link follows.


Make Your 2024 Tax Deductible Donation

Deadline Midnight, Tuesday, December 31, 2024

12/31/2024

As the sun sets on 2024, make your end-of-the-year tax-deductible donation to an organization that puts 97% into its outreach programs. Our goal is $10,000 before the End of the Year 2024. The IRS Deadline for your 2024 tax return is Tuesday, December 31, 2024.

We've been supporting warriors and their family members since 2003 as an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) public charity eligible to receive tax-deductible donations. Receipts are sent via email or US Mail for all donations.


Sole Surviving Son

Learn the history of Sole Surviving Son during war and peacetime.

12/30/2024

Contrary to popular belief, "only sons," "the last son to carry the family name," and "sole surviving sons" must register and they can be drafted. However, they may be entitled to a peacetime deferment if there is a military death in the immediate family.


What's After Boot™ FAQ

Got questions? We've got answers!

12/30/2024

This is our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page for recruit and Marine parents to understand what happens AFTER boot camp. More schooling! Yep, there you have the short answer. But you've likely got more questions, so tune in to this page to learn more!


Boot Camp: New for You or Memories?

Firing Week and Qualification Day During Boot Camp

12/29/2024

During Firing Week, the second week of marksmanship training, recruits begin before sunrise, preparing their rifles and themselves to shoot the known-distance course of fire.

Recruits prepare for rifle qualification day by firing rounds of both slow fire (one shot at a time) and rapid-fire (10 shots in a row). Recruits fire from four shooting positions at ranges of 200, 300, and 500 yards.


School of Infantry: Camp Geiger

Basic info about SOI East + Grad Date Schedule

12/29/2024

Camp Geiger, North Carolina, is one of two School of Infantry (SOI) locations where newly-minted Marines will be instructed on modern Marine Corps infantry tactics in order to conduct expeditionary combat operations. Camp Geiger is a satellite facility of Camp Lejeune and is located in eastern North Carolina, approximately 250 miles east of Charlotte, NC and 50 miles north of Wilmington, NC.


Tradition of the Yellow Footprints

Excerpt from an April, 2009 Marine Corps Article

12/28/2024

4/10/2009 by Lance Corporal Ed G., MCRDPI.

As the air brakes hiss, hearts beat faster, palms sweat, breaths become shorter and a bus of hopeful recruits are unified by the fear of the unknown.

These are the experiences of so many recruits who have passed through Parris Island's main gate.


Marine Corps Physical Fitness

Learn about the physical fitness standards that allow Marines to perform so well in combat.

12/28/2024

When asked what your son or daughter is doing these days, you may have noticed a very impressed reaction when you tell whoever asked that he/she is a United States Marine. Undoubtedly, this is due to the illustrious history of the Corps, the rigorous 13-week boot camp, and the expectation that the Marines are in optimal shape. But what is the Marine Corps' secret to this standard of excellence? It has to do with the emphasis that individual Marines and the Corps place on physical conditioning.


History of the Marine Corps from Marine Parents

A Learning Opportunity for Proud Marine Parents

12/27/2024

This page of our website includes an overview of Marine Corps history, something every proud parent of a Marine should be familiar with. This is your learning opportunity! You can check it out on our website.


Types of Deployment

Learn the different types of deployments for Marines.

12/27/2024

Marines are always the first to fight, but combat deployments are not the only deployments that your Marine could be a part of. The deployment section of our website goes over each deployment type to prepare you and your Marine for what could be ahead.


Knowledge is Power!

Learn more at Recruit Parents

12/27/2024

Everything you need to know about Marine Corps Boot Camp Recruit Training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot MCRD Parris Island. Our website map breaks it down into articles for you.


Official Links to SOI Websites and Resources

Use these official links for useful resources at SOI East and West.

12/26/2024

The websites on this page are official USMC websites and offer additional information on the topic of the School of Infantry (SOI) in the "What's After Boot?" category.


WAB: What Comes After Boot Camp?

12/25/2024

What happens when your Marine graduates and leaves the Marine Corps Recruit Depot? Where does your new Marine go next? What's After Boot?

To that end, every Marine goes on to additional weapons training at the at School of Infantry (SOI) following boot camp graduation. Your Marine will have specific written orders before departure from the Recruit Depot.


Mail and Packages During Boot Camp

You may begin writing to your recruit as soon as you receive his/her address.

12/25/2024

Though your recruit may move from one location to another during boot camp, you will always use the same mailing address for him or her.

The first letter you receive from your recruit will be a form letter. This letter should arrive in your mailbox approximately 10-14 days after they leave. The form letter should include your recruit's mailing address.


Licencia de 10 Días

Después de la Graduación de Boot Camp

12/24/2024

La siguiente fase de entrenamiento después del campamento de reclutamiento es SOI, o Escuela de Infantería. Su nuevo Marine tiene derecho a diez días de licencia después de reclutamiento. Su nuevo Marine puede reportarse a SOI antes de tiempo para guardar la licencia si lo desea.


If you're in the San Diego area: MUST SEE

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Command Museum

12/23/2024

If you're in the San Diego area, stop in to the museum at the Recruit Depot. If you're going to graduation, your newly-minted Marine will most likely insist on it. They are proud of their history and want to share that with you. Our website offers additional information about the museum along with a slide show of images. Check it out!


Marine Parents Donation

Your Gift Supports Families Through the Corps

12/19/2024

For over 20 years, we've been serving the Marine Corps community and helping family members new to the Corps and military understand and follow their recruit or Marine's career. We help thousands of people like you feel closer to their Marine by providing accurate information and support throughout their careers. Your donation helps us continue our mission of supporting and educating Marine Family members. Click the image to donate.

Over 93% of our income goes to program use, with 100% of donations supporting outreach services. We've been supporting warriors and their family members since 2003 as an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) public charity eligible to receive tax-deductible donations. Receipts are sent via email or US Mail for all donations.


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