jane wayne

I am not cut out to be a Marine.

I don’t want you to get the wrong idea – I never considered becoming a Marine, nor did I ever labor under the misapprehension that I would be qualified or well suited for such a choice. Nevertheless, even though I am and have always been quite secure in my decision not to pursue a career in the armed forces, last Friday I had the chance to find out, once and for all, whether or not I was right. And it turns out I know myself pretty well.

Of what do I speak? Well, last Friday, I participated in a long-time Marine Corps tradition called Jane Wayne Day. I honestly don’t know where they came up with the name, but the idea of Jane Wayne day is to let spouses (most often wives) get a taste of some of the things their husbands do on a regular basis. I asked if we would be doing marriage counseling, leading services, and visiting people in the brig – but no, that wasn’t what they had in store for us. Instead, we ran a modified CFT (combat fitness test), had a lesson in MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program), ate MREs (meals ready to eat – what Marines eat in the field) for lunch, conquered the obstacle course, and went in a convoy simulator. Oh, and we rode around in big trucks, stood in formations, and got yelled at by drill sergeants. 

As to whether or not a typical Marine would do all those things in one day, I have no idea. But, as ridiculous as the idea of Jane Wayne day sounds, I do think it provides some much needed perspective to many spouses on the kinds of things their spouses are expected to do at work on a daily basis. Even the waiver we had to sign to participate was instructive; we were warned that we might sustain physical and emotional damage, and had to agree that neither we nor our offspring nor our next of kin nor our debtors nor our executors nor our friends-who-used-to-be-our-neighbors-down-the-block could sue the Marine Corps if something DID happen. I had fun doing it for one day, but like I said, I am more sure than ever that I could never ever do that every day.

I didn’t take any pictures of my own, but here are a few of our group that were distributed. Shabbat Shalom!