Jan Ritchie prepares for war

Jan Ritchie's most vivid memories of boot camp at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton are of what was supposed to be a 15-mile hike with 90 pounds of gear.

The hellish experience began when one of the recruits in Ritchie's platoon forgot a piece of equipment.

In boot camp, that's bad news: The whole platoon gets punished.

"They made us all run around the base for four or five hours, in full gear," the Saultite recalls.

It gets worse.

In the middle of all that running, one recruit twisted an ankle.

Ritchie was then delegated to carry his injured colleague's gear, plus his own. He was forced to run for hours and then complete half of the 15-mile hike straining under 180 pounds of equipment before he was relieved.

In early November, 72 recruits in Ritchie's platoon started basic training at Camp Pendleton in San Diego.

By the end of boot camp last Friday, only 42 remained to graduate.

Saugeen First Nation

Ritchie, a member of Saugeen First Nation who lives in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, made it through the grueling 12-week program and is now a very proud Private Jan Ritchie, USMC.

He knows of at least three other active Marines from the Canadian Sault.

Three are members of First Nations, who enjoy dual Canadian and American citizenship as part of their treaty rights.

Veterans are particularly esteemed in Aboriginal circles.

We're chatting Monday afternoon at the food court at Station Mall over steaming cups of Tim Horton's coffee.

For Ritchie, that's a real luxury. Caffeine is forbidden during basic training.

Could be in Iraq by this summer

The Saultite is back home for a few days of rest, and must report back to San Diego for more training starting on February 24.

He'll receive seven months of infantry and motor-vehicle mechanic training before beginning active service.

That's assuming that the United States doesn't enter a war with Iraq.

In the event of war with Saddam Hussein, however, Ritchie's training will likely be cut in half.

That could place him in the Iraqi war zone by this summer.

"The drill instructors said to train hard because there's a 90 percent chance that all you guys are going over," Ritchie recalls.

Sault Boxing Club

It was almost 11 months ago that Ritchie, then 24, first talked to SooToday News about his dream of joining the elite military organization.

We met him at the Elders Conference at Algoma University College, the first of several events at which we observed Ritchie participating as a traditional drummer.

Over the past year, Ritchie has worked hard to maintain a high level of fitness.

When 600 Camp Pendleton recruits embarked on their first five-mile run, it was Ritchie who finished first, even though he's never run competitively in his life.

He also "kicked butt" at Bo/Jo martial arts, crediting time spent at the Sault Boxing Club.

'You can't lose bearing'

Through all of the pain and fatigue and humiliation of boot camp, the important thing was to always maintain the "bearing" of a U.S. Marine, Ritchie says.

"They break you down, but you can't lose bearing," he tells SooToday.

And his thoughts on fighting Saddam?

"I just hope it doesn't happen," he says.

"But I have to take orders. That's my job."

SooToday News has arranged to publish weekly letters from Ritchie describing his ongoing Marine Corps training and his call to active duty in Iraq, should that occur.

Watch for his first letter home in early March.