Michael at Boot Camp

Unfortunately, we have no pictures of Mike at Boot Camp, but some of his stories are vivid enough that we can just imagine them.

We received his first letter home (3 in one actually) and couldn't wait to rip them open and see what he said. Here's a summary of his first 2 weeks at Great Lakes Naval Training Center:

He arrived there on August 25th, and didn't get to go to bed until the 26th at 4:00pm. He had a lot of processing to do, like shots, paperwork, learning the basic stuff and as he says it, getting yelled at. He's been trying not to stand out to the commander, just doing what he's told.

Week 1: He got 4 shots, 2 in one arm, 1 in the other and 1 in the butt. He went to medical 3 times in one week because he had tendonitis. They said he has borderline arches, making his feet want to turn at different angles than the shoes, so they put him on Light-limited duty for 3 days.

He has already made some friends. One is Jordan, who he says is easy to talk to and helps him deal with some of the boys who are over him. Another is a Jewish boy he met.

He has two Commanders and actually likes them. One is Chief Petty Officer Rice. He says he's hilarious, always making jokes and playing around, but knows when to be tough. The other is Petty Officer Flemming. He says he is funny too, but his is more in insults and name calling. I guess as it's not directed at you, it's funny, right? Flemming is the harder of the two and won't hesitate to make them stand on the blackline as punishment.

Week 2: He got off light-duty and passed the swim qualification test. His Jewish friend needed an escort on Friday to go to Temple, so Mike offered to go. He thought it would be cool to check it out. He wore a yamulka, and participated in all of the rituals. They handed out little Sacrament cups filled with what he thought was grape juice. When they drank it, he drank his and found that it was actually wine. He said he almost gagged, and it was nasty.

He goes to church on Sundays at 7:00am and was planning on attending. Maybe he'll invite his Jewish friend to go with him.

He also got what they call "Recruit Crud", which is basically a cold made up of the germs from all the recruits from across the country. But, he's recovering from that.

He seemed to happy and getting into the swing of things there.

If you are interested in writing to him, here's his address:

SR Cortese, Michael F
Ship 14, Division 398
3410 Sailor Drive
Great Lakes, IL 60088-3150

More to come! You'll know when I know!