I arrived at Exeter st davids around 2 o’clock in the afternoon, I noticed a few lads smartly dressed with puzzled looks on their faces so I gathered they must be PRMC so I thought I would introduce myself. We arrived at CTC around 2.30 and were one of the last few to arrive. I was really surprised to find out that there were only 25 on the course. The rest of the afternoon was spent sorting out our bedding, kit, polishing our boot and unpacking. It was a really relaxed atmosphere because of the amount of people on the course; no one had to struggle to find some decent kit from the stores due to the lack of people. After we were all chatting amongst ourselves and getting to know each other, their was only one lad who had been on the PRMC before and he got to week 22 in RT. I managed to get myself on the bottom bunk which is much more convenient when taking trips to the toilet in the night; also no one was on my top bunk which was really helpful when trying to get some kip. We went bed around 10 o’clock; everyone was trying to get some kip until one lad started snoring really loud. So a few of us decided to throw bottles and sock at him to wake him up, was quite funny really.
Wednesday
Woke up at 5.45, don’t wake up any earlier because the corporals are not too fond of it. Next was sh*t, shower and shave, the showers was freezing cold from the start but we just had to get on with. Then we went to scran which is excellent, most of us had a small breakfast because we were worried about the 3 miler. After this we done some drill which was ok, it’s very basic stuff. Then we went off to have a lecture about what to expect on the course and what they expected from us. We then had to get into PT gear ready for the 3 miler.
3 Miler
We started off with a basic warm up, it was nothing to hard just jogging around in a circle and a few stretches. The 3-mile run was set up so we would run half way as a troop in 12 minutes 30 seconds and then run back as fast as we can which had to be done in under 10 minutes 30 seconds. The pace for the first half was quite easy and did not get me out of breath but I did get a sweat on because it was quite warm even this early in the morning. When we got to the half way point we had to turn around and line up, after a few word of encouragement from the PTI we were on our way. I managed to get a good start in third place which I managed to maintain most of the way back until I saw the sign “it’s only pain” 500 meters to go, then I just gave it every thing I had and managed to overtake the lad in second place. My time was 8.54 which I was happy with, although on the run 5 of the lads failed to finish in the required time.
After the run we did a short warm down and a few stretches then marched back to camp. We all had a shower and got changed ready for some lectures; the 5 lads who fail the course had to go for a chat with the SM who informed them they had failed the course. Two of the lads decided to stay on the course but the rest went straight home. After we had our lectures on weapons used by the Royal Marines we had a talk with a very nice lady for Barclay’s bank. Then it was off to scran for lunch, after we got changed into pt gear cleaned the accommodation and got ready for gym test 1.
Gym Test 1
We started off with a short warm up by one of the PTI’s, then straight onto the bleep test. The test starts from the first level and a PTI sets the pace, but then retires at about level 6. From then on you have just got to crack on and make sure you reach the line, if you fail to reach the line three times the PTI will pull you out. Most of the lads had dropped out by level 12. Only 2 people got passed level 13 including myself, which was when I thought you had to stop but the PTI told me to continue but I only managed to get to 13.2 because I lost all my momentum.
Straight after we were then tested on our press-ups, for this your partner would lie on the ground on his front and put his arm out. His arm would be out stretched with his fist on the floor knuckles facing up; he would be looking away so as not to count press-ups that didn’t touch his knuckles. One press-up was all the way down with your chest touching your partners knuckle and back up again. I only managed to get 54 which I was disappointed with but I think it was mainly due to the fact I had no time to catch my breath after the bleep test where as the people that drop out around level 12 got time to catch their breath. Next were the sit-ups, your partner would hold your ankles and a full sit-up counts as starting from elbows and shoulder/head touching mat all the way up to your knees. Your elbows have to come up and touch the top of your knees for the sit-up to count, you have to make sure also that your legs are always together and don’t come apart, if they don’t the PTI will tell your partner not to count the last ten or so. I completed 83 sit-ups so I was happy with that. They are very picky with the press-ups and sit-ups in terms of form and if you are doing it wrong they will just start knocking your score down so you may do 60 but only 53 actually counted because you had some knocked off for bad form.
Last but not least were the pull-ups, these are done on a wooden beam that ended up being very slippery plus if you sweat it is even harder to grip. The PTI let us wipe the beam with the towel then we were able to wipe our hand as well, I managed to get a good grip and was able to complete 9 pull ups but for some it was too slippery and they only managed a couple of pull ups. During the whole time you will be very sweaty, it is important not to wipe you face (or not get caught wiping you face) because you will get punished for it. That was the physical side over and done with for Wednesday, although straight after gym test 1 we had a swimming assessment, which involved jumping off a high board and swimming around the pool using breaststroke then climbing out unaided. Make sure you wear swimming trunks, there were only 2 of use who did and the rest got press ups for wearing shorts. When getting out the pool do not use the ladders, one lad did and he was doing press ups until everyone had finished the swimming assessment. Also a lot of people were told they were weak swimmers, so try to ensure you are able to swim with confidence. After we went back to our rooms to clean up and get ready for a few lectures. We had a lecture on health and fitness by a naval doctor and he was just warning us that if we do have an injury during recruit training then we should really speak up. Wednesday night was spent at foundation where you spend your first 3 weeks of recruit training; we were shown around and introduced to a few guys that had already done a couple of weeks. We got to ask then some questions which was really interesting to see how they were coping.
Thursday
Basically this is the same as Wednesday morning. After scran we did some cleaning the got into our combats ready for the death slide. The deathslide is basically a zip wire but high up, this is not test it’s just literally to examine your head for heights.
Bottom field
As we got onto bottom field we noticed a camera crew that was filming us which we thought was strange, we later fount out they were filming a new PRMC video so you may see my ugly mug on their when it comes out. First thing that happened was that it had started to rain, which was a massive result because it was really muggy down there.
To start off we did the high obstacles, you get taught how to do a commando rope cross across a rope that is only about 4 ft off the ground but then you immediately go and do one about 15ft in the air. At the end of that you climb up a bit higher so you’re nearer to 20 feet in the air at least and you then have to confidently walk along a thin plank of wood, a lot of lads were being to by the PTI to go back and walk the planks again because they were not doing it with confidence. Once we made your way across the planks we then climb on to another rope that is even higher than the planks and we then had to commando cross the rope to a cargo net where you climb down. Once we had completed the high obstacle course we were then shown all the obstacles on the timed assault course. We were shown 2 obstacles at a time but if we weren’t doing them we would be marking time which is jogging on the spot whilst watching how they are done. Once shown how to do them we would have to go over the obstacles for a practice run.
Here is what I done on the assault course, I cleared the tank trap (water obstacle) and the 6ft wall, and then I came to the scramble net which you have to commando crawl under a low net with stones. Then I got to the monkey bars which was very slippery due to the rain, there were lads falling off all over the place, next it was over the triple zig zag wall with the first being a walk the second being a jog and the third being a sprint. Then the Chasm which was another rope crawl then a three-stride sprint over the swing bridge obstacle. After I sprinted up the hill towards the 5ft wall, then sprinted some more up the hill towards the gate vault. Then I sprinted into one of the 20yard tunnels by this time I had caught up with the guy in front of me so it was a slow stroll through the tunnels, came out of them past the guy in front of me and up the 12ft Wall. I grabbed a rope and climbed up to the top, shouted out my name and jumped down the stairs on the other side and sprinted to the finish. I came in with a time off 3.14 which I was happy with, we then had to walk around in a big circle until everyone had finished. The assault course itself went ok for me but lots of other people were struggling, guys were slipping of the monkey bars and falling of the ropes.
Determination test
This comprised of sprints to obstacles, marking time, pyramid exercises press-ups facing down hill, sit-ups facing up hill and squat thrusts facing down hill, running up a very steep hill and back. This lasts about 20-25 minutes and throughout the whole time the Corporals shouting at us. Make sure you give it every thing you’ve got, it doesn’t last for ever. If you do well and sprint to the front the corporals will pick you out and ask for your number. No one wrapped on this just one lad who kept going off to be sick but he had already failed the course on the 3 miler. Once the determination test is over we finished it with piggy back rides with a self chosen partner to the bottom of the field and then back up, it’s about 100 meters or so but as you get closer to the corporal at the bottom he is constantly moving further back. This was one of the hardest things because you have nothing left, but just remember when you do the piggy back ride you are at the end so do not give up.
After this we went back to our rooms and got ready for our interviews. Due to the small number of people on the course we had our interviews in two’s. We sat down with our section corporal and he gave us a sheet of paper which at the top had our results on. He explained to us that we had very good scores and that all we needed to do was not give up on gym test 2. He then went through a questionnaire with us and basically told us what to put, this followed with some questions on corps history. We got asked when was the Falklands, where 3 commando are based, birth of the corps and describe the badge, that was it for the interview.
Gym Test 2
We started off with a short warm up by one of the PTI’s. The PTI's will ask for a certain number of people to get things and help set stuff up make sure you run out to help, even if a load of other people do it doesn’t matter, it shows you're prepared to help. In gym test 2 there are five work stations that will be set up and you have to spend 3 minutes on each one. I’m not going to explain each one because it will take forever, but you will line up in your colour groups and continually complete each obstacle until those three minutes are up. Then on the PTI’s command you will have to move to the next, when not doing the obstacles you will be marking time. If like our group you only have 4 people it becomes much more difficult because we were going around the obstacles much more that the group with 8 people in it, so we became much more tired. After this we were told to put all the equipment away and line up in three ranks. The PTI then explained that we were going to do some sprints, so we all had to line up across the gym. On the PTI’s command we had to sprint half way across the gym the back again, he would then tell us to do the same again but 3 times, after he would make us sprit the whole of the gym and back etc. This lasted for around 15 minutes, and then the PTI told most of us to walk around the outside of the gym. Four of the lads had to continue for another 5 minutes because they were not putting in enough effort in. That was about it for gym test 2.
We spent the rest of Thursday night cleaning our accommodation and packing all our kit away so that we didn’t have to do it and Friday.
Friday
Woke up around 6.00, went for scran then back to our rooms to pack away our own stuff. After this we just went into the TV room to watch the blue peter 30 miler, then the corporals brought us some T-shirts, water bottle, a book on the history of the royal marines and a recruit handbook. At around 9.30 we had to go and see the SM to get out results, out of 25 only 15 passed the course. We then watched a video of 908 troop in training which was good. After this we had to go and collected our boots and went back to the accommodation to collect a lunch pack ready for the train home.
Tips
- Make sure you get the right size boots, one lad didn’t and he suffered for it on bottom field with really bad blisters.
- Get to know the lads from the minute you are there because they will help you through the next few days.
- Do not fidget in the gym you will get caught and have to do press ups.
- Ensure you bring swimming trunks (not shorts).
- Always keep your water bottle topped up (They do check).
- Make sure you are able to complete 1.5 miles in under 10.30 with ease or there is not much point going on the course.
- Give everything you have got in the last 500 meters of the 3 miler.
- Just remember its only pain it doesn’t last for ever.
Cheers
Chezza
P.s Any questions feel free to ask
I mean what I would think of as swimming gear would be like surfer shorts (board shorts) are those sufficient?
