Well, I just decided to so some exercise this Wednesday, and I must say, just an hour of it is quite some hard work.
I wasn't even working out that whole hour. More like twenty minutes.
If there was anything I learned from this, it's that I need to keep exercising. Sure has motivated me to do so.
I said the same thing about myself when I first joined. In fact, in my very first Marine Corps PFT (Physical Fitness Test,) I didn't even finish the 3-mile run! I kept at it though and in less than a year I was able to do 20 pullups and run 3 miles in 20:08. However, the requirements for OCS are much higher than bootcamp, all you need to be able to do before shipping off to bootcamp is the following:
Pull-Ups: 3
Stomach Crunches: 50
3-mile run: 28:00
If you can't do that, they won't get rid of you; they'll just stick you in the "Fatty" platoon until you can hit those numbers (and believe me, you don't want to be that platoon).
The Marines sure are complete morons if they're seriously looking for people like me. That, or they're desperate.
Why would they want hypocritical hemophobia pacifist who can't even jog to save his life in their ranks? Not only that, but one that's in it just to become a mercenary, and not a Marine?
As I said earlier, that recruiter sounds like a douchebag. A real recruiter would be asking you in a drill-instructor voice "What can you bring to my Marine Corps?!"
As for the pacifist thing, probably half of the Marine Corps disagreed with the reasons for going to War in Iraq, and it was same way with Vietnam. However, their country called on them to fight, and they answered. The military is far from being the war-horny bastards that the media and movies always portray them as (though those types certainly do exist in the ranks).
And I'll say it again - you're still in a civilian mindset, thinking only about the benefits and what's in it for you. This is perfectly normal man, everyone thinks that way before joining. I did too. You'll come around during training, believe me. Hell, I came around while just getting ready for training!
Also, even if you're only in it for the benefits, that's still far from being a mercenary. Real mercenaries (Like Blackwater or Xe as they're called now) make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, work on their own schedules, and basically just fight whenever and wherever it is convenient for them. Do you see the difference? You won't get any of that in the Marine Corps or any other military branch for that matter.
Like hell if I'm joining the Marines. I can't even run a block without collapsing to my knees and gasping for air as though I'm dying.
Another strange thing: As soon as I decided not to go to the Marines, I've been getting mail from the Navy to join their ranks. They sent me a personalized letter and everything to contact a recruiter. Not only that, but their offering the exact same things the Marines were offering me.
There is going to be physical training in all the branches of the military, dude, though generally speaking the Marines are certainly the most hardcore about it. If you're considering the Navy now, then I hope you're a good swimmer.