December 25, 2002
TC man drills in sense of discipline
Jim Poehlman drill instructor at Illinois Navy Boot Camp
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
"Anybody here from Michigan?"
It is one of Jim Poehlman's standard questions of his new Navy recruits when they step off the bus at the Navy Boot Camp in Great Lakes, Ill. A drill instructor with the Navy, the Traverse City native is always curious about his latest batch of young men he will shape into the Navy mold during a nine-week boot camp.
This November, with a new batch of 80 recruits to work with, he found two of them were not only from Michigan, but also from his hometown of Traverse City.
So for the past six weeks, Chief Petty Officer Poehlman can take an occasional break from his duties to spend a few minutes reminiscing with them.
"They are good kids, it is a pretty intense nine weeks," he said.
Adam Richter, a 1995 graduate of Traverse City Senior High School, decided to join the Navy after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. His goal is to be one of the elite Navy SEALs and he spent the summer getting into top shape by running up and down the Sleeping Bear sand dunes wearing a backpack full of sand.
"9-11 really pushed me but being a SEAL has always been a dream of mine," Richter said. "Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted it; an uncle of mine tried and didn't make it and he always said, 'Adam, you'd be perfect.'"
Finding two other people from Traverse City has been helpful, Richter said, noting he and Stewart Crandall had met at the recruiting station over the summer. Being assigned to the same unit at boot camp was a welcome coincidence.
"It's refreshing to have hometown folk, we share newspaper clippings and get to know what's happening in Traverse City," he said.
Crandall is a 2002 graduate of Central High School who joined the Navy with a goal of flying planes, a long-time dream. His father was a Vietnam veteran in the Air Force and Crandall will train as an aviation electronics technician after he graduates from boot camp on January 10.
"The most important thing they've taught us is attention to detail," said Crandall, a former Trojan wrestler. "Bunk drills, locker drills, continuous repetition of doing everything again and again until you get it right."
Winding up with a Navy career and serving as a drill instructor was the furthest thing from Poehlman's mind when he joined in 1985. He headed to Central Michigan University after high school graduation, but soon realized he did not have the focus to go to college.
"I was just going to do a few years, get some discipline and some money for college and go back to Traverse or something," recalled Poehlman, who has lived on both coasts and served an extended hitch in Naples, Italy. "But it's been close to 17 years now."
"Being from Michigan, I wanted to get close to home," he noted. "I enjoy dealing with the recruits and the younger generation, I can relate to them and believe I have something to contribute."
The popular image of the screaming, abusive drill instructor is a media-inflated myth, Poehlman noted.
"We're yelling the first couple of weeks and I still have to do that now and then," he said. "But it definitely dies down."
As for the swearing? While acknowledging that he was called "everything in the book" when he was a recruit, Poehlman said that is thing of the past.
"We're real conscious of profanity," he said. "We show them the right way to do things and correct deficiencies, but there's no need to belittle or berate."
"And when you do have to really get on a recruit, you do it behind closed doors," he noted.
Being told what to do 24/7 is just part of the program for the recruits, who live in close quarters for their training. They quickly get a huge lesson in getting along with each other, something crucial to their future service on ships.
"When they are first hear, it is just, 'I, I, I,' and, 'Me, me, me,'" said Poehlman, who is working with his fourth batch of recruits. "About halfway through they begin to help each other out more and be considerate of each other."
Those with specific goals like Richter take all the rules and regulations in stride. They realize that the yelling and strictness is for their own good - and the good of their future shipmates.
"Poehlman's stern, he wants us to get the job done and do it right," Richter said. "He's preparing us for the fleet and to me he's probably one of the better drill instructors. He's fair and I look up to him."