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April 30, 2009
By Justin Castellanos
Senior Frank Rose has been planning on joining the U.S. Marines since his junior year. He and his friend, Jesse Bradley, signed up together early last summer. It is not unusual for high school graduates to join some branch of the armed forces right out of high school. In fact, approximately 2% of them do so, according to a 2007 senior survey.
“I wanted to see the world and finally get out and do something with my life. Besides, they let me play with some big explosives,” Rose said.
Even though it is not required for trainees to prepare beforehand, some go to boot camp. They can sign up for the Delayed Entry Program(DEP) to mentally and physically get in shape. However, Rose does physical training exercises every Tuesday and Thursday with other poolees, or people who signed up for the marines, in order to prepare for boot camp.
“Because I joined [the Marines] so early, I had the advantage of choosing the job I get, so as of now I am in construction,” Rose said.
The construction job can entail a variety of different tasks, from building and repairing buildings to demolishing unwanted structures. However, Rose’s grandfather had been in the U.S. Navy as an engineer, whereas his cousin was in the marines for four years as part of the telecommunications department.
“I leave right when summer starts for boot camp, so I’m not too excited for that, but after boot camp I’m not sure what will happen to me,” Rose said.
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