Welcome!

A quick introduction...I am Gretchen Miller aka One Proud Marine Mom AND One Proud Air Force Mom. I live in Saint Joseph, Missouri and have worked with Max Beerup over the last three years helping him with the website for "The Other Boot Camp" aka San Diego.

In October 2004 I visited San Diego to attend one of the graduation ceremonies. During my stay I had the opportunity to meet dozens of parents that had visited the San Diego Graduation website and were sincerely thankful for the information it contained. While I had been contemplating a website for Parris Island, it never seemed to be a priority until I met these wonderful families and discovered just how helpful this type of information is. So for all the families of Parris Island Marine Recruits, here is some information on my experience at Parris Island. I didn't have a website like this when my daughter graduated in January 2003. I jumped in blind and hoped for the best.

If anyone has information that you, too, feel would be a helpful addition to this website, please do not hesitate to This is, after all, by and for friends and families of Marine Recruits.

And last but not least, congratulations to your son or daughter who is currently being trained to be the best of the best, the truly elite. They have much to be proud of and so do you.