ABSTRACT
Many of the new recruits told me that before joining, they had been thinking about initiation into their training programme with much eagerness, usually whilst in the comfort of their family homes, considering all the things they wish to achieve from the training. But as many of the recruits discover, thoughts and desires of military successes while sitting on a warm sofa in front of the television will often become recognised as mere fantasy. The reality, however, produces culture shock, an initial phase of training in which recruits are submerged into a devil's cauldron of pain and angst and are left to develop their own coping mechanisms and ways to console. This is the beginning of a fundamental part of the adaptation process, which will ultimately lead the successful recruits to form their new identities as Marine Commandos.
