The U.S. Marine Corps in Crisis: Ribbon Creek and Recruit Training

This is much more than the story of one lone drill instructor's misguided attempt to instill discipline into his platoon. Rather it is a look at the Marine Corps, at recruit training in particular, as an institution and at how changes in the institution allowed an incident like Ribbon Creek to happen. - Marine Corps Gazette "Fleming brings a knowledgeable eye and a discerning sense to Marine boot camp, an American institution that is much discussed but little studied or understood." - Infantry

This book describes the history of a tragic event in USMC history and of how its impact led to reforms. In 1956 a Marine drill instructor led his recruit platoon on a punitive night march across Ribbon Creek, a tidal stream at the Parris Island, South Carolina, recruit depot. Six men drowned, and the resulting court-martial became a national media sensation putting the future of the corps into question. Written by a senior historian at the Marine Corps Historical Center, ""The U.S. Marine Corps in Crisis"" explores the social, political, and historical context of this tragic moment in U.S. military history as a case study in how bureaucratic institutions undertake internal reform and offering a valuable vantage point on tensions in American society during the 1950s.