TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) - Future members of the United States military got to experience a pre-boot camp Saturday morning at Ballard Park.
Men and women who are officially enlisted but have yet to go through basic training are in what's called the Delayed Entry Program.
By going through the Armed Forces Cup, it's designed to prepare them for recruit training.
A series of physical exercises and skills competitions helps the recruits with making a transformation into boot camp.
Competitions range from pull ups to crunches, and even a 1.5-mile run.
Each competitor who experiences the Armed Forces Cup gets a better understanding of what being motivated is all about.
"If you notice, we kind of push them," adds Patrick Eversull, Staff Sgt. United States Marine Corps. "We kind of yell at them a little bit, not in a bad way, but in a motivating way. Because that's how they're going to be at boot camp. They're going to be motivated through the drill instructors, the drill sergeants from the Army, and so on."
The people enlisted who are waiting to go through their respective boot camps are between the ages of 17 and 28.
