#devil pups

[electronicsquid]

Perhaps not the summer camp haircut he was hoping for

(Allan Grant. 1960)

[electronicsquid]

"That's some nice hair you got there, boy. Shame if something were to happen to it."

(Allan Grant. 1960)

[electronicsquid]

When your parents weren’t clear what sort of camp you’d be attending this summer

(Allan Grant. 1960)

[militaryspouselifestyle]

Devil pups

[electronicsquid]

The realization that you're about to lose all of your hair

(Allan Grant. 1960)

[farmboy1962]

I love this picture..it is from LIFE magazine, the September 1962 issue...these are young men who signed up for the "Devil PUP" program for the United States Marine Corps.  I believe that all of the young men are really there for a summer camp type experience, but a stop to the Barbershop was on the list of activities...more photos of their adventure are to follow, but this is a great pic of everyone getting "Mass Flattops" more to follow on the September 1962 devil pup experience!!! 

[lovelylittlehappilyeverafter]

Queued posts, see you on the 14th ._.

[cadet-corps-blog]

how hard is your guys basic training? im trying to decide between sea cadets, cap, and devil pups.

Our recruit training is Navy recruit training rolled into a time period of anywhere from nine days to three weeks depending on if you do a summer cycle or a winter cycle and where your RTC is at. When I went through, I went during the winter of 2007 - 2008 so my RTC was only nine days long; it was difficult in the sense that we had less time to learn the exact same material that you learn over the summer and fewer days to meet and pass criteria needed to graduate and get credit for going to boot camp.

I don't know very much about Civil Air Patrol, but from what I've heard from friends who have either checked it out or were in the program themselves this is what I've been able to deduce: it's essentially the same kind of program as Sea Cadets. It's a program for Americans ages 12 - 21 and utilizes both enlisted and officer ranks for cadets. You go through a similar type of boot camp/basic training that they call "Encampment", and you can choose to do trainings at the local, regional, and national level after you do encampment. If you make it to the officer ranks, you get to go into the Air Force as an E3 instead of an E1.

Devil Pups, however, is a completely different animal in the fact that it is not a cadet program. Devil Pups is a once in a lifetime experience for Americans ages 14 - 17 and is a two week taste of Marine Corps boot camp, located on MCB Camp Pendleton, CA. It is run by Marines and you are separated into gender-segregated platoons and train with that platoon the entire two weeks while learning leadership, core values, self-reliance, confidence, and to take responsibility for their own actions. At the culmination of the Devil Pups session, you climb a mountain at Camp Pendleton called "Old Smokey" and upon reaching the top, you receive your Devil Pups challenge coin; you graduate and go home the following day. I've had many friends go through this program and they say that it's outstanding and definitely something you should do if you're in the local area (I believe they only take kids in California, Arizona, and Nevada).

I'm always going to have a biased opinion when it comes to talking about Sea Cadets because I've been in the program for seven years now; I joined the younger program "Navy League" cadets and was in that for two years before I fleeted up to Sea Cadets in October of 2007 and went to boot camp that following Winter cycle. I honestly think the Sea Cadets is the best program for teens in this country. It teaches you about military lifestyles, you have opportunities to train alongside our own Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard; you become a more confident person, a more physically fit person, a more morally defined person, and a more aware person. It helps you become a team leader and looks great on resumes and applications.

I've seen people come into the Sea Cadets as a last ditch effort to get their act together and have a complete 180* turn around in how they act and what they say. That's not to say that Sea Cadets is a program to be used for punishment/discipline purposes; if you're looking for that kind of program, check out Grizzly Youth Academy or other military schools. You only get out of this program what you're willing to put in to it, and if you are not willing to do the work, meet the criteria, and do what you're told, your enjoyment and time in the program shall be very minimal. I can guarantee you that much.

You seem like you have a good head on your shoulders, anon. Figure out what exactly you'd be looking for out of a program like these, figure out whether you're more interested in learning about the Navy and sea-faring life (although we have many more things to offer than just going out to sea), or if you're more interested in aeronautics, the Air Force, and flying, or if you just want a one-time, butt-kicking experience.

Get some--Chief