203 - My Military Story - The Reaper

Continuing the “My Military Story” Series, I talk about the end of Second Phase in Boot Camp. There is a hump at the end and everyone is supposed to do to make it up “The Reaper”.

This is a 700 Foot mountain that all MCRD San Diego Marines must go up. While not a hard graduation requirement, your squad mates and Drill Instructors won’t consider you a Marine unless you climb “The Reaper”. It was a brief moment in my life, but a moment I was happy to experience once I got to the top.

Many lessons can be learned from going up that hill. The one that sticks with me is simply, “Don’t Quit”. That lesson applies today as it did all those years ago.