Monday, March 13, 2006

What does Pat Tillman's college roomate do?


Why, he joins the Marine Corps, of course.
After Pat was killed, he (her son Jeremy Staat) began to dwell on things. He visited me at home and we had a real serious talk. He told me that he was through with football.”

He decided to enlist in the military. Because of his larger-than-life exterior, Staat had to pass a few tests before he could enlist.

His mother said he passed tests everyday.

“He called me and said, ‘Mom, you can’t be any more than 78 inches, 29 years old and 261 pounds,’’’ said Goodheart. “He was all three.”
This guy must have been a hoot for the Drill Instructors,
Stepping away from the life of an entertainer to enjoy the priceless experience of Marine Corps boot camp, Staat said he couldn’t feel more at home.

“I would wake up every day and smile,” said Staat. “Recruits look at me like I am crazy, but I am just happy to be here; to be on a practice field as big as Camp Pendleton is crazy.”

According to Goodheart, the letters Staat sent home during training let her know that her son was doing fine in his training. “He was very happy,” she said.

The only thing that Staat couldn’t grasp about training was the other recruits. He couldn’t understand why 60 recruits would rather to do push-ups in the dirt than sound off when told to by their drill instructors, but Staat never lost his motivation, according to Goodheart.
...
Staat said he found it amusing that people pay for the training that Marines are paid to complete.

“They train you to keep in shape. They put you on a diet,” said Staat. “People pay to do that.”

Staat recalled a day during training when his company ran the obstacle course. There are a number of high walls, logs and bars to get over throughout the course including the rope, which is strung from a high beam of wood to the ground. Staat attempted to climb the rope but failed. He was trained on the proper techniques, he got a second chance.

Staat’s senior drill instructor told him to climb the rope again. One of the many things that are stressed during training is bearing, but when Staat climbed to the top of the rope, he broke his bearing and smiled.

“I asked him what happened the first time and he smiled and said, ‘This recruit didn’t have the technique down, sir,’” said Staff Sgt. Miguel R. Saenz, senior drill instructor, Platoon 1065.

“I was just happy,” said Staat. “I had never climbed a rope before.”
Attitude. Kind of reminds me of this guy some...in a good way.

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