Business Insider's chief video correspondent Graham Flanagan and senior videographer & editor Aj Caldwell take you behind the scenes of the "Boot Camp" story: Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00How are you feeling now that it's almost all over?
00:03Well, not quite over yet, sir, but...
00:07Alright, sir!
00:09Feeling like I can conquer the world.
00:11Tell me about that response.
00:13It was probably up until that point the most challenging part
00:19and is a very rewarding, rewarding feeling.
00:23In three short months, three short months
00:27As long as it has seemed
00:31I finally had earned it
00:35The title of Marine
00:37The title of Marine
00:46I'm Graham Flanagan.
00:47I'm the chief video correspondent here at Business Insider.
00:50I'm the creator and showrunner of the Boot Camp series
00:54and today we're here to talk about one of our recent episodes
00:58about Marine Corps Boot Camp in San Diego.
01:01I'm joined here by A.J. Caldwell
01:03who's a senior producer for Business Insider.
01:06A.J. served in like an assistant editor capacity on this.
01:10So like after I got back from San Diego
01:14I had to like move on to a project that I'd already shot.
01:17It was like the Hawaii Army War Games piece
01:19that I spent a lot of time putting together.
01:22So then I gave all the footage to A.J.
01:24and you like went through and sort of organized it
01:27logged it
01:28put together sequences and scenes
01:31from which I then came back to it
01:33when I was done with that Army piece
01:34and then started to like build the final product.
01:37So A.J. spent a lot of time on this project
01:40and so that's why I wanted to have you here to chat about it.
01:43Sure, I appreciate it.
01:44Yeah.
01:45From your perspective like when you just watched the footage
01:48what were your impressions of Marine Corps Boot Camp?
01:51Yeah, I think so for me
01:53I don't have the context of like being in the field
01:57on this particular shoot
01:58and so I think the first thing I saw I went in order
02:01so first thing I saw was like students at the airport
02:05waiting to get picked up
02:06and like to me that part was just so unique
02:11because we're always like starting our shoots
02:13like on some sort of base
02:15like in the middle of training
02:17maybe the arrival to the base itself
02:19and because this depot is like literally right up against the airport
02:24it just starts like right when you run when you land
02:27but then I mean the second they get off that bus
02:30it just picks up
02:32and I think once I got to that part
02:35I realized yo if just arriving at the depot
02:39is this intense for these recruits
02:42I can only imagine you know what's going to happen
02:44in week two, week three, week four
02:47as I just keep going through the footage.
02:49I'd filmed in Paris Island
02:51the East Coast recruit depot for Marine Corps back in 2019
02:56I went back in 2021 to do just a story about their crucible culminating exercise
03:01so I'd covered Paris Island
03:03and I there's this whole other operation on the West Coast in San Diego
03:07and I thought we should go over there and see that
03:09because the Marine Corps boot camp story from Paris Island from 2019
03:12is a huge hit for us for our show for Business Insider
03:15it's still like the most watched Business Insider video ever
03:19in terms of like a standalone episode of something
03:22so it was like okay let's let's
03:24we're not just gonna like
03:25we could just go back to Paris Island and like remake that or reboot that
03:28but there's this whole other thing happening on the West Coast
03:31let's go see what that's like
03:32I was curious about two main things
03:35what's changed in five years
03:37and what's the environment like compared to Paris Island
03:40so on that note it's totally different
03:43like you're in the South Carolina low country in Paris Island
03:46there are these like sand fleas that everybody talks about
03:49these little bugs that just irritate you and itch you
03:51and sting you your legs particularly
03:54but in San Diego you are literally in the middle of the city
03:58like you said you're right next to the airport
04:00and they're doing their initial strength test
04:03planes are like a few yards away like giant jumbo jets taking off and landing
04:07makes it hard for them to understand what the instructors are saying
04:10it's like chaos
04:12then you look around and like you can see like Metro San Diego
04:15all around you just a total totally
04:18skyline and everything yeah
04:19totally different environment like nothing I've ever seen
04:23I mean we've been at all different military installations
04:26like you've been to like Lackland
04:28I've been to Fort Benning and Fort Campbell
04:31and just all these places and like you when you're inside these installations
04:34like there's no sign of the outside world
04:36and so in San Diego it's just completely different
04:39yeah
04:40which has to be such a distraction
04:42yeah
04:43for the recruits so like they then go up to Camp Pendleton
04:46which is like a much more sort of rural mountainous place
04:50that's where you sort of get those Paris Island vibes like you're away from civilization
04:54yeah
04:55but I have never been on an installation as unique as the San Diego recruit depot
05:01so that was totally different
05:04in terms of how have things changed since 2019
05:07really not much
05:09yeah
05:10I mean they do the same thing
05:11they show up on the yellow footprints
05:13they get yelled at
05:14they make that initial call home
05:16they do their strength test
05:17and like really had not changed
05:20the dynamic between the drill instructors and the recruits
05:24the recruits was the same as I guess it has been to varying degrees for many decades
05:30yeah
05:31so that honestly like I was a little surprised that we didn't see more like obvious ways that it's changed
05:37but I'm also not surprised because it's like they've kind of got a system that works
05:41yeah
05:42if it ain't broke don't fix it
05:43right
05:44right
05:45and we filmed a crucible in 2021
05:48an eagle globe and anchor pendant ceremony
05:51and in that video it was like right basically at the height of COVID
05:56early 2021
05:58before the vaccine
06:00and so we filmed that scene
06:03and they're all crying when they get the EGA
06:05but they're all wearing masks
06:06which just killed me
06:08yeah it hides a lot of the emotions
06:09totally
06:10like you could just see like their eyes up to this point
06:12and then and some tears coming down that would then get soaked up by the mask
06:15so I was really excited in 2024 to be able to like go back and film that
06:20see their faces in it and it delivered like on cue all these all these now Marines are just like weeping
06:28what were some of the like the differences between the crucible at Paris Island and then the crucible at San Diego
06:35I mean they were doing a lot of the same stuff
06:38I imagine terrain might play a difference
06:41yeah totally
06:42like Paris Island is flat
06:44you know and in San Diego in Camp Pendleton where they do the crucible it's mountainous
06:50and they have that big hike and that the run up the reaper
06:55this big hill where they're like screaming and yelling and they get to the top and it's like whoa this big catharsis
07:01they didn't really have that anything that can compare to that in Paris Island
07:06like that's one thing that's that West Coast Marine training boot camp has on Paris Island
07:12I guess you could say
07:14and the San Diego Marines they have this like nickname
07:18they call them Hollywood Marines
07:20like you're on the West Coast it's not as hard as Paris Island with the sand fleas and the humidity and everything
07:25but they have Camp Pendleton you don't get that in South Carolina very different
07:30the terrain is I would say much more challenging even though certainly Paris Island like I said
07:36a lot of things about that place that make it very hard especially depending on like what time of year it is
07:41so I think the verdict is Marine Corps recruit training Marine boot camp is going to be hard
07:47yeah no matter where you go
07:48it doesn't feel like it's real it feels like a dream
07:50but I can physically feel it and know that it is not a dream it is the real thing
07:55it's a great honor to all this in my hand
07:58and know that I are in this
08:00and it is mine and no one else can take it from me
08:03we actually have a now Marine who was a recruit
08:07in this video in this Marine Corps boot camp San Diego video
08:12Brandon Weaver then recruit Weaver now Lance Corporal Brandon Weaver
08:17we've got him live from Japan right now
08:20Brandon thank you so much for joining us
08:22it's been about a year or a little over a year since we met
08:26yes sir
08:27so thank you for joining
08:28so you're in Japan you're at Okinawa the big Marine installation there
08:34and tell me a little bit about where you're from
08:38you're from very far away from Japan
08:41tell me like where you're from give me a little bit about your background
08:44I'm originally from Oklahoma
08:46I'm from Porto, Oklahoma
08:48it's a little blinking and missing town basically
08:51it's got like less than 10,000 people that live there
08:55did you ever think that you would end up in Japan
08:58I mean obviously a lot of Marines go to Japan
09:00but like is this something that was like on your bingo card for your life
09:04like that
09:05yes sir
09:06yeah
09:07Japan has been on my hit list for a long time
09:10because you've got Marines in your family that sort of probably
09:14so tell me a little bit about that
09:16my stepfather who I consider him my father
09:19he was originally a Marine
09:22he was in 0351
09:24and he was stationed in Japan for a long time
09:29and so I heard stories growing up of whenever he was in Japan
09:33he was on Camp Schwab
09:35okay how long have you been over there?
09:37I've been over here for just over a month
09:40oh wow
09:41so you're brand new to it
09:42I met you in April of 2024
09:44you know I was with you for like three days
09:47and then the video comes out
09:50like a year later
09:52what was your reaction to the video?
09:55I sent you the link
09:56I was like here it is
09:57so yeah what tell me just like your impressions of it
10:00so I recently got a new phone
10:02so I didn't even see the email
10:04like I got a whole new email
10:05so I had to go back onto my old email
10:07to actually see that you sent me that
10:10as actually one of my sergeants had walked over to me
10:15and was like Weaver have you seen this video?
10:17you know you're in this video
10:18I was like oh cool it's finally out
10:21and so that's when I watched it
10:23and it was it was just I can remember like all the everything that was happening
10:30I can remember every little detail about it
10:33most Marines go through boot camp and training
10:37and there's not I mean sometimes there are cameras there for this or that reason
10:42but like it's pretty rare that there's like a camera person following you around
10:45so like what was it like to sort of relive those moments from the crucible in this way that's pretty rare
10:53it was it was really really cool really neat
10:57and at times it was a little cringy like hearing my voice how like broken it was
11:04Weaver weaver
11:05That's not what you're supposed to do
11:06You were told to get on the crew
11:08He's not responding Weaver
11:09Respond!
11:10Okay now you're not responding to me
11:11ISR fixed it
11:12I am him
11:13Hearing some of the things that I was saying
11:15and it was like I could tell I was I was tired
11:18and not not really all there at the time
11:22Did anything come to mind that like made you cringe?
11:25Not really just mostly like how my voice was like really broken and raspy
11:30Two columns this is not two
11:32When you look back at that footage how did you feel physically?
11:37Like you talked about your voice being shot
11:39but we always talk about the crucible they're running on low sleep
11:43they're running on low food
11:44but like what was it really like for you in those those few days
11:49and I think it's like 54 hours of the crucible
11:51like what what did what did your body feel like?
11:54It was extremely tiring
11:57it was extremely extremely taxing on your body
12:01and it it was painful but it was something that if I had to I would do I would do it again
12:10I hear that a lot like I see that in a lot of comments on YouTube people
12:14you know obviously when you're in boot camp especially on that first night the yellow footprints
12:20you know everybody is like so nervous and it seems like extremely stressful
12:24but I see a lot of comments of people saying like I wish I could go back and do this all again
12:27why do you think people say that?
12:29It's just it's just at least for me it's such an important moment
12:35it's something that I personally have looked up to for several years for like I said in the video for most of my life
12:42and so it's just something that if I had the chance I would love to relive it
12:47it's like the feeling like having like a favorite movie or something and watching it for the first time
12:52and wishing to have that same experience that you did the first time
12:55it's just I would love to agree with that
12:59You said you were tired and you know physically exhausted
13:03but like when I interviewed you about it was like around the time you were doing pugil sticks
13:10and hand to hand combat and I just said is boot camp hard and you said that it was hard
13:17but you said then mostly because of the mental aspect of it
13:21and you emphasize like being homesick being away from home just generally for boot camp
13:27what were like the mental challenges that you faced you know and tell me about that
13:32describe that homesickness that you felt
13:35so a big one was as you know it's right there by the airport
13:41and so a lot of times whenever we were PT we were PTing over there right by the airport
13:47so we heard the planes flying over there and we seen the planes taking off
13:50and it was just like one of the recruits said in the video
13:55it's just being ready to get back on that plane
13:57to be able to go back home to your family
14:00so what did it feel like when you actually did get on a plane and
14:04I didn't actually get on a plane to go back home my parents came and picked me up
14:09they drove the whole like two days to get out there and we drove back
14:15what was that like that reunion after the you know the intense 13 weeks of boot camp
14:20well I got tackled by my mom and my sisters whenever they released us
14:25whenever family came out on the parade deck
14:28I was walking over to them and they basically just tackled me almost
14:32so you told me you have a dog a Blue Heeler named Blue and that you really miss that dog
14:37I've got a picture of Blue
14:39have you since been reunited with your dog?
14:42I have yes sir
14:43he is currently he's actually currently in San Diego
14:46okay what was that like?
14:49he also tackled me upon seeing me
14:54he was very very excited to see me
14:56and he still to this day whenever I'm home he does not leave my side
15:00anytime I go somewhere he's right there with me
15:02so he remembered you?
15:04yes sir
15:05he very much remembered me
15:07drill instructors
15:09yes sir
15:10I got to see I mean in the crucible they kind of they ramp it back up
15:14right?
15:15and you had some really compelling drill instructors in your company
15:19tell me specifically when you go back and watch the footage
15:23tell me about those drill instructors
15:25and what it's like to go back and watch that footage of them and their element
15:29and just like what impact they had on you during that experience
15:33I look at it as like a very much
15:36I look back at it as like a mentorship kind of thing
15:39I really really appreciate my drill instructors
15:44I really appreciate all that they have done for us and are continuing to do
15:49and hoping that one day I can meet them to be able to actually formally thank them
15:54pick up your own weight
15:56I'm out
15:57tell me about Martinez
15:58you know she was on you a lot
16:00she gave you your EGA if I remember correctly
16:02tell me about your relationship with her
16:04she was
16:06she was our tray our knowledge hat
16:09and
16:10she was also the one that was in charge of
16:13our
16:14gear and cleaning supply
16:16locker we call the whiskey locker
16:18which is where I got the name whiskey weaver
16:20because I was the whiskey chief
16:22and
16:23so
16:24she was always
16:26from like
16:27the second week whenever I became whiskey chief
16:30she was constantly on me almost every night
16:32to go fix the whiskey locker
16:34because
16:35somebody would mess up
16:36and put something in their own spot
16:38and then I have to go and fix it
16:39and
16:40so it just became a thing where she was constantly on me
16:43and it just became natural
16:45that she was
16:46I was like her
16:47pick me recruit
16:48per se
16:49I love that
16:50yeah I was gonna
16:51I was gonna ask you
16:53during that EGA ceremony
16:54she
16:55when she gets to you
16:57yes ma'am
16:59thank you ma'am
17:00thank you ma'am
17:01I was wondering
17:02I was wondering what the origin of that was
17:04that's so cool that you explained that
17:06that was like one of the main
17:07one of the main things I wanted to ask you
17:09yeah I remember at one point
17:11Martinez was really going in
17:14while you were stick leader
17:16weaver weaver weaver
17:17what did you kind of just like learn about
17:19leadership during that point in the training
17:22being the stick leader for your group
17:23I learned a big part of
17:27you kind of can't
17:29let everyone do
17:31really what they want
17:32you can't really be like
17:33oh hey you need to do this
17:35sometimes you have to have like a stronger fist
17:38and actually
17:40lay down
17:41this is what you are going to do
17:43because we can't afford for you not to
17:45tell me about
17:47just like the interaction
17:48like how did the
17:50dynamic change between you
17:51and the other
17:53recruits while you were
17:54while you were a stick leader
17:56Kornikovsky
17:58yes
18:00some of them really respected me
18:01and others did not
18:02and that was kind of prevalent
18:03like who would listen who wouldn't
18:05and
18:07some of them it wasn't like
18:09oh they're just
18:10they're just a little slower at moving
18:12and so that's why they weren't
18:13you know listening per se
18:15and
18:17so
18:18it was really
18:20how do I put it
18:22it was
18:23it was a very
18:24learning experience
18:26and
18:27it was something that
18:29I think everyone
18:30needed to do
18:31and I'm glad that everybody
18:32did get to do
18:34and it's just
18:35one of those things that
18:37you'll have to lead at some point in your life
18:39and it just teaches you how to lead
18:40and it gives you the experience of
18:42hey we've taught you what you need to do
18:43you need to do
18:44this is now your chance to prove that you know how to do it
18:46what was it like
18:47you know I
18:48I just show up and kind of naturally
18:50find somebody to follow
18:52it happened to be you
18:53not what you're expecting right
18:56and so what's that like I mean
18:59you seem like totally cool with it
19:01and you're always like really
19:03open to talking and
19:05and I have to kind of find that balance
19:06because I don't want to like just
19:07totally distract you from what's going on
19:09I try to like I'll film I'll move away
19:11but like what what
19:13how did that sort of impact your experience
19:16you know having me around and
19:18following you
19:20what was your sort of feeling about that
19:22it gave me more of a
19:25you know oh hey you can't
19:28you like if you're going to slack
19:30you don't need to slack
19:32even more because you know
19:34you have someone you had the whole world
19:36might be watching this one day
19:37and so it just really kept me on my toes
19:40made me you know put my best foot forward
19:43and make sure that I
19:45really ensure that I did everything I needed to do
19:49after the Reaper
19:51which I only saw the the run up the hill
19:55right like that was a much longer hike right
19:57that started in the darkness
19:59tell me about that experience
20:01so we stepped off from the base of the hill
20:04or from I don't know it was a couple miles away
20:08we stayed overnight
20:10there and then that morning we
20:12they woke us up
20:14we packed up our maybe sacks
20:16got our main packs put back together
20:19we ate chow for maybe a minute or two
20:22and then we got up and started hiking
20:26and it was just a really long and felt like a never ending hike
20:29and the ground the road was kind of off
20:34it was kind of offset
20:36I don't see my hand
20:38kind of offset the whole the whole way
20:40it's kind of angled a little bit
20:42and so we just kept going
20:44and then eventually we seen this
20:47it was like a tin building
20:49and then we looked to the left
20:52and there it was there was the roof
20:54we could tell that was it
20:55and then after that I mean that's one of the coolest things I've ever filmed
20:59is that that run up the hill
21:01they certainly don't have that in Paris Island
21:03in the low country where it's flat right
21:05like that is unique to Camp Pendleton
21:07and for the San Diego Marine recruit experience
21:12and after that run
21:16everybody was kind of like resting eating
21:19and there was just this quiet moment
21:21there was like emotion on all the different recruits faces to varying degrees
21:27and I got to you and I asked you
21:31how are you feeling?
21:33How are you feeling now? It's almost all over
21:35Well, not quite over yet sir, but
21:39Hey sir!
21:41Feeling like I could conquer the world
21:43I mean, why did, tell me about that response
21:46why did you feel that way?
21:47It's just the, how long the hike was
21:51it was a very long, grueling hike
21:53and it was probably up until that point
21:57the most challenging part
22:01or not really challenging part
22:03but the most looked forward to part
22:05and is a very rewarding, rewarding feeling
22:08going up that hill
22:10and finally, you know, conquering the reaper
22:12then obviously, I saw you receive your EGA pendant
22:17Eagle Globe and Anchor pendant
22:19which sort of symbolizes the transformation
22:21from recruit to Marine
22:22like when you get that you are a Marine
22:24along with many of the other recruits
22:27there are tears streaming down your face
22:30Yes sir
22:32Why is that moment so powerful for new Marines?
22:37I would think that it's so powerful because
22:39it's just, we've worked so hard for this
22:42this is something that
22:44oh, you can't just skate through
22:46you can't just be like, oh yeah
22:47I'm just going to halfway do this
22:49and maybe I'll get it
22:50no, you have to actually work for it
22:52you have to actually push through
22:53actually show out
22:55you have to actually work to get
22:57just a little, just a little pendant
22:59just no bigger than this right here
23:01and it's just a very rewarding item
23:05to be able to hold
23:06Do you keep that with you?
23:07Is that something that you like
23:09make sure you know where it is?
23:11Where is your EGA pendant?
23:13It is, well, my EGA pendant that I received
23:16in the video, I do not have anymore
23:19that EGA pendant was, is now with Sergeant Carvajal
23:23which was, he would have been my second choice
23:26had Sergeant Martino's not been able to give the EGAs
23:29and whenever, after the final part where you had me show the EGA
23:35I went back inside and he called me over to the duty hut
23:40and he told me to give me his EGA
23:43give him my EGA, sorry
23:46and so I did, I handed it to him
23:49and he went inside the duty hut
23:51and came back out with another EGA
23:54and he asked me to tell him the difference between the two
23:56and I told him that
23:59mine was more matte, it was more new
24:02and the other one was older
24:04and he said that's because this other one
24:06is off my campaign cover
24:08and I think you deserve to have it
24:10and so he put my EGA on his campaign cover
24:13and put, gave me his EGA
24:16Whoa, that's awesome
24:18It was a very, I didn't, I never thought that was a thing that could or would happen
24:24but, I later asked him and he said that
24:28any time that he needed a recruit to do something
24:31he said I was always there, I was always willing to do anything that needed to be done
24:36He said I was, I was one of the only recruits that he felt deserved it
24:40Why didn't they let me film that?
24:42Yeah, come on
24:44I don't think, I don't think that was really planned
24:47I think that was just on a whim
24:49He was like, yep, we're just going to do it right now
24:50So you said you're, you said a sergeant was the first person that like told you, hey that video's out
24:56because you hadn't seen my email yet
24:58What other types of, what other types of reactions or comments, feedback have you gotten since the video went out and has become like a big hit?
25:07Pretty much everybody in my shop, everybody, almost everybody in the squadron
25:13I haven't even had people from other squadrons that have seen me
25:17and be like, hey I seen you on YouTube, you're that, you're that weaver guy
25:20and it's just, at times I just have to like, lower my head and just shake it and be like, yep, that's me
25:28It's not a, a fame thing that I thought would really be as common as like, oh hey, you're that guy
25:36I thought it'd just be like, you know, some people would notice and be like, oh yeah, that's that guy
25:39but no, people actually like walk up to me and like, oh yeah, I see you on YouTube
25:45and my corporal actually printed off some pictures and screenshots from the video
25:55and we just have it in the shop
25:57Awesome, well, this is just so cool, we've never done this
26:01I've never really done this, like followed up with somebody from any of our videos
26:05like, we film it, we put it out, that's kind of it
26:09and this is just so cool to like, catch up with you
26:12hear some more of these stories that like, we didn't see, like with your EGA pendant
26:16so, this is awesome, but I'm just curious, like, tell me a little bit about your job
26:21like, what, what are you doing now, what, like, as much as you can
26:24like, what, what's, what's sort of your role as a, as an aviation's, aviation operations specialist
26:30So, an aviation operations specialist is, basically, we take care of the more, it's more of an administrative job
26:41but, like, you know, we have to run a PFT and CFT every year
26:46we take care of that, we're in the S3 shop, we run the operations
26:50we take care of anything operation-wise
26:52so, like, the flight schedule that needs to be made, we make that every day, every morning we make that
27:00and, and whenever someone has to do, like, their semi-annual height and weight
27:05we take care of that, we take care of the PFTs, CFTs, and just stuff like that
27:11How, how much longer do you think you're gonna be in Japan?
27:14Uh, probably another six or seven months
27:17Okay, and then likely come back to the US, but you never know
27:19Yes, sir, I'll be coming back to San Diego
27:23Okay, cool. Well, again, thanks for chatting with us
27:26and good luck to you, Lance Corporal, Brandon Weaver, United States Marine Corps
27:32Thank you for your service, thank you for talking to us today
27:35Thanks for letting me follow you around and bug you
27:38I think we've gotten a great response from the video
27:41and I think, hopefully, we'll continue to
27:43and it's just, it's just been such a pleasure getting to know you and chatting with you
27:47yes sir. Thank you for having me
27:50plenty head earning
27:52the title of marine
27:55the title of marine
27:57the title of marine
28:03www.