MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO -- Recruit training has taken a sharp turn toward more realistic close quarters combat training.
Since early July, recruits aboard the depot have been using real bayonets during the first phase of boot camp, instead of the blue, rubber trainer bayonets.
A new obstacle, the bayonet trench, was added to supplement the change and there were modifications made to the existing bayonet assault course.
Staff Sgt. Christopher Amancio, staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the Instructional Training Company Martial Arts Section, said using real bayonets provides the recruits with a source of reality and gives them confidence in their equipment.
"Training the recruits receive make them more efficient with their weapons and the bayonet skills they are taught,"said Amancio. "The courses help the recruits realize how effective the weapons are when they need to be used."
Recruits participate in their first rifle combat classes on training day seven, which include pugil stick bouts and the bayonet trench.
While advancing through the trench equipped with tactical body armor and a rubber rifle armed with a bayonet, recruits aim at and approach simulated opponents, which are represented by stacks of tires. Their tactical approach is known as a combat glide—a careful walk performed by holding their rifle in the ready position while being careful not to trigger or trip on any hazardous wires.
Once they are near the targets recruits charge and execute a straight thrust into the simulated enemy before exiting the trench.
Sergeant Michael Martin, an ITC instructor, said the changes also help unit cohesion at the small unit leader level because recruits learn to work as a team while they are completing the courses.
Real bayonets are also used when conducting the bayonet assault course.
Without bayonets, the recruits squad rush through the obstacle until they reached the concertina wire where they back crawled underneath to the other side. Once they crawl out from under the wires, the recruits are met by an instructor and told to take a knee.
The recruits are then told to rest the butt stock of their rifle on the ground and remove a bayonet from the footlocker closest to them. As the recruits secure the bayonets to the end of their rifles, the instructors watch closely to ensure the task is performed properly and safely.
Obstacles remain the same throughout the course even though the methods used to navigate them differ from the original techniques. Immediately after the bayonets were fixed to the rifles, recruits are once again told to combat glide instead of run. This is done to show the importance of being safe in combat situations and not just rushing into battle, said Martin.
Another change is recruits now have to tactically maneuver around the wall they use to have to crawl over.
At the end of the course, recruits are once again told to take a knee. They unfasten the bayonet from the rifle and place in back in a footlocker.
All changes that were made to the course were done for safety reasons.
"Safety is always paramount when dealing with recruits,"said Martin. "We have taken the proper precautions to ensure the safety of everyone involved in the events. There are instructors placed throughout the course to make sure everything is done properly and the dummies used to practice bayonet techniques were spaced far enough apart to prevent any accidents."
The training is progressive and helps recruits prepare and achieve a combat mindset.
"We try to impress upon the recruits how tired they are going to be in real combat situations,"said Amancio. "We teach them that despite the exhaustion and challenges they will face, they need to be able to exercise physical, mental and character discipline."
After completing bayonet training in boot camp, recruits are better prepared for real combat situations and are more confident in their abilities to be victorious over their enemies.