Decoding a Royal Marine Commando: The Militarized Body as Artefact

ISBN-13: 9780367585334 / Angielski / Miękka / 2020 / 134 str.

Mark Burchell

Opis

With a heritage dating back to the mid-seventeenth century, the Royal Marines have accrued a rich history of rituals, artefacts and material culture that is consciously deployed in order to define and shape the institution both historically and going forward into an uncertain future. Drawing upon this heritage, Mark Burchell offers a unique method

Spis treści

Contents;Preface;Chapter 1;Introduction;Background;Abstract Anthropology as Fieldwork Technique;Overview;Chapter 2;Culture Shock and Initial Adaptations to the Regime of Discipline;Arriving at the Commando Training Centre;The First Training Weekend;Early Group Formation;Arriving at the Field and Exiting Jack;Chapter 3;Equalization;When Drill Sergeant Says ‘YOU’ He Means ‘YOU All’;Identical efforts: ‘The Room Swap’;The Dreaded Kit and Weapon Inspection;Afters: The Post-Inspection Body Sacrament;Chapter 4;The Phase of Identification;Extracts from January: We All Get Punished for Each Other’s Mistakes;Extracts from February: A Cold Commitment to Pain;Extracts from March: Fortification of the Group We’re Becoming;A Surprise Enemy Attack;Extracts from April: Specialist Instruction;Extracts from May and June: We’ll Get by With a Little Help from Our Training Team *;9^th, 10^th& 11^th July: Confirmation Weekend;Chapter 5;Exchanging Exhausted Bodies for Excellence: The Testing Stage;Day Two: The first Pass-out Test;Timothy;Jon;Tris;Recruit Narratives and the Re-Contextualisation of a Bottom Field Experience *;Hard Training is Made Easy with Taff Around;Days Three, Four and Five: Living in the Open Environment;Day Six: Three Tests in One Day;Day Seven: More Practice amid the Tests;Day Eight: Ceremony and Taboo;Day Nine: The Nine-Mile Speed March;Day Ten: The Tarzan Assault Course and Preparation for the 30-Miler;Chapter 6;Ceremonial Acceptance;The Closing Feet Ritual;Final Reflections before the 30-Miler;The 30-Mile Run;The ‘Final’ Finish Line;The Green Beret Award Ceremony;Day Twelve: Discussions about Self-Empowering Narratives;Day Thirteen: His Final Chance;Day Fourteen: Emerging from Liminality;Chapter 7;Conclusions: Civilian to Commando from an Anthropological Perspective;Violence and Masculinity: A Socially Acceptable Identity;Disciplinary and Punishment Rituals: Types and Practices;Discipline: Types and Practices of the Royal Marines;Surveillance: Brickwork and Imagination;De-Individualization and Personhood: A Sound Investment;Narratives: Re-Creating a Body Experience;Re-creation of pain narratives;Self-empowerment narratives;Future masculine-action narratives;Re-Individualization: Acceptance into the Royal Marines;　Glossary;Bibliography

O autorze

Mark A Burchell is a former Royal Marine Commando who received his PhD at the University of Bristol.　 He is appointed as professional anthropologist at Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (MOD), Porton Down, UK.