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| Everything Before Basic Training |
The Recruiter
Maybe your son or daughter initiated the conversation. Maybe the recruiter made the first call. Maybe a friend introduced them. It makes no difference how they met, but the recruiter will be your son's or daughter's main contact until the bus takes them to the airport on their journey to becoming a Unites States Marine.
Hopefully you've met your recruiter and are supportive of your son's or daughter's decision to be a Marine. If not, I urge you to contact the recruiter and learn as much about the next few months as quickly as you can. This section is intended to assist in that journey, but you need to meet the people involved, too.
 If the recruiter promises something, such as a promotion to Private First Class based upon college credit, make sure you get this in writing. (Several recruiters and their superiors have stressed this to us.)
What's a Poolee?
The initial paperwork has been signed. Maybe your son or daughter is in the Delayed Entry Program, allowing them to finish high school or wait for the right job opening before beginning their training. In any event, the term "Marine" does not yet apply. All the young men and women in similar situations are in a "pool" of people ready to go for basic training, hence the term Poolee.
Recruiting stations generally have their poolees meet on a monthly basis for physical conditioning and/or education and training about the Marine Corps.
MEPS and The Land of TLA
Your son's or daughter's recruiter will probably pick them up one evening and take them to a hotel. At Oh-dark-thirty the next morning they'll be taken to MEPS or Military Entrance Processing Station for a physical exam and initial strength training. Assuming there are no problems, there is more paperwork to sign and they'll be sworn into the US military.
Find out from your recruiter when would be a good time to watch them being sworn in. It's a great photo opportunity!
If you haven't discovered it by now, you're in the Land of TLA - Three Letter Abbreviations! Well, OK, some are more than three letters. But there are more abbreviations and new terms than you can shake a stick at. You're not alone in this. Check out the Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms.
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