by Lance Cpl. Francisco Abundes
During the 13 weeks of recruit training, one of the most encouraging moments for recruits is when they open their first letter from home.
“Mail is a good encouragement that reinforces the recruits – someone back home is thinking of them,” said Sgt. Walt Krueger, senior drill instructor for Platoon 2024, Echo Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion.
The Importance of Mail Call During Marine Corps Boot Camp
Recruits receive their letters from family or friends at the end of the day during mail call. Mail call is often a way for recruits to get away from the wear and tear of training and find encouragement from loved ones.
“Every recruit looks forward to it,” said Recruit Zackary Wilborn, an 18-year-old from Burlington, N.C. “You see them with a hidden happiness trying to keep their bearing.”
How Mail Call Works at Parris Island
Mail call takes place every night, Krueger said. The recruits gather around the senior drill instructor, and he calls them up by name to receive their mail.
“It’s contact,” said Recruit Kenard Bush, an 18-year-old from Thomasville, Ga. “It might not be physical, but a lot of times recruits may have trouble with certain aspects of training and are feeling down, depressed, or just lonely. A letter might lift their spirits for that one night and give them the boost they need.”
Wilborn said that because the average age for the platoon is 19, many of the recruits have never been away from home and are accustomed to constant communication.
Letters Offer Encouragement and Motivation
Additionally, most of the young men are accustomed to current technology—social networking, texting, and cell phones—to communicate, Bush said. They do not have this luxury at recruit training and must adapt to an older, slower, but deeply meaningful method of communication.
“When you have a letter, you read, and then take time to write,” Bush said. “It motivates you and reminds you of why you’re here.”
Packages and Mail Security
If a recruit receives a package, he must open it in front of his senior drill instructor to make sure there is no contraband, such as cellphones, Krueger said.
Writing Letters Back Home
Recruits are given a chance to write back to their families at night during senior square-away time, a period where they are given a bit of freedom. Before going to bed, one of the recruits collects all outgoing mail to place in the mailbox the following morning.
A Small Moment That Makes a Big Impact
“It gives them some sort of contact with the outside world,” Krueger said. “Drill instructors are here to train them and demand of them and keep them in line. Their families are pretty much the only ones for them to talk to or listen to their problems.”
When the Marines from Echo Company leave today, it will be because of their perseverance, the hard work of their drill instructors, and the letters from home.
Mail call remains one of the most meaningful, morale-boosting parts of Marine Corps recruit training — a quiet, powerful reminder that someone back home is rooting for them.