Although I could write for hours on my experiences while in RRP, I will stop with one anecdote:

One of the RRIP course stages involved having to tread water for some extended period of time with full cammies and boots while holding on to one of those simulated rubber M-16 rifles. A few minutes into the test, even the "fish" of our bunch were having difficulty. Although having resolve to spare, Sgt Flores, not being a "fish", struggled mightily until finally he slipped under the water.

He kept fighting under the water until he passed out and sunk, quite rapidly, to the bottom of the twelve foot pool. The pool safety team quickly jumped into the water and struggled to get Flores to the surface and ultimately onto the concrete pool surround. As this happened, the rest of the men in the test were told to stop and swim to the side of the pool, and we happily complied.

Once to the side of the pool, all of the Marines watched with silent concern as the lifeguard-types prepared to administer artificial respiration to Flores' limp body. After five or ten breaths, and to our amazement, his eyes popped wildly open, and he began to furiously fight with the medical personnel. He tried to get free, grab his rifle, and jump back into the water to finish the test!!

I kid you not. This man had just drowned before our eyes, yet he fought to stay within the unit he had trained with. I believe it was at that point that the administrators of the RRIP course determined that Sgt Flores had that "never quit" quality needed to be a member of Radio Reconnaissance Platoon.

Sgt Flores eventually passed and became a member of RRP, along with myself and five or six others.

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