United States Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, MD

Part 2 of a 3 part series

While at Bainbridge all recruits marched nearly everywhere.  We marched to chow three times a day, and we marched back to our barracks, or wherever.  We marched to each separate building for classes in seamanship, leadership, fire training, etc.  Everyone was issued a weapon also which was carried everywhere while marching.  In case that wasn’t enough we also practiced marching on the “grinder,” a ¼ mile square of asphalt.  About two weeks into our training our Company Commander asked for volunteers for Color Guard.  Although I was fast learning to never volunteer for anything I did volunteer for this.  I had seen the Color Guard practicing.  They marched around with flags doing all sorts of strange tricks with them.  Instead of going to marching drills on the grinder every morning, the Color Guard met inside a large drill hall to practice.  I turned in my weapon as I no longer needed it.  The first day we practiced for an hour.  At the end of the hour we were merely dismissed back to our barracks to meet with the remainder of the Company to complete our day of training.  The next day I reasoned as long as they didn’t muster us in or out there was little reason for me to remain so I slipped out a side door, returned to our barracks and did some laundry.  I repeated this for several weeks.  One day as I was entering the drill hall a fellow Color Guardsman slipped and fell ripping out the crotch of his pants.  Some authority called him a klutz and dismissed him from Color Guard.  As I had learned nothing of the Color Guard, and realized someday I was going to have to perform during a Company graduation ceremony, I needed a way out.  The next morning I used a razor blade to slit most of the stitching in the crotch of the pants I was wearing before going to practice.  As I entered the building, I managed to fall down, splitting my pants.  I was told to leave and not come back.  My plan worked well.  When I informed my Company Commander what had happened he told me, as I didn’t know the weapon training manual of arms, to remain in the barracks each day.  This was even better than good.  For the remainder of boot camp I neither was in Color Guard not did I march with my company.