The first night at boot camp is unforgettable for Marines

It's quiet as buses full of new recruits pull up to the depot in San Diego late in the evening. The first sound these recruits hear will be the voice that guides them for the next 12 weeks.

From now on, these recruits will only respond with 'sir' or 'ma'am' to every question. "We immediately set the standard, the history, the tradition and let them know they are not at home. It is a training environment," explained German Trevizo, a U.S. Marine Drill instructor.

These recruits step on to the yellow footprints where thousands of Marines before them have stood. It's a significant moment that every Marine said they remember.

"Once John F. Kennedy stood on those footprints-- that is when those pictures started circulating and Parris Island adopted them," said Trevizo.

To give educators a feel for what it's like the first night of boot camp, they go through the same thing the very next morning.

The drill instructors set the tone for the rest of boot camp. "As a drill instructor, it is to instill the values and morals and character and what it actually means to be a Marine," said Trevizo.

The educators only got a taste of what recruits will experience for the next three months.

The journey to becoming a Marine starts the first night you step off the bus. "That experience is going to change your whole life and it all starts here," said Trevizo.