Ruth A. Mueller
English Composition 101
20130702
The biggest Marine Corps base on the East Coast It was founded in April 1941 when it was originally approved to be built on 11,000 acres. Today, however, it has grown to 156,000 acres with approximately 180,000 personnel who enter the base each day making it the largest Marine Corps base on the East Coast.
On any given morning, traffic is bumper to bumper with Marines and civilian workers reporting to work. Every day I was there; I witnessed thousands of Marines trying to drive to work all at the same time. The Provost Marshall Office (PMO) manned the gates entering Camp Lejeune 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They also patrolled the roads surrounding the base as well as the roads on Camp Lejeune. Like any job in the US, trying to drive to work was very stressful and maddening.
Camp Lejeune also has a wide variety of individuals when it comes to people living on and around the base. As stated before there are 180,000 people who enter the base. That number counts for Active duty, spouses, dependents, retirees and civilians. Thanks to the number of people who live and work there the base is able to generate approximately $3 billion in commerce each year.
The base currently has 11 miles of beaches that are used for family recreation and amphibious training. The smell of salt water is always in the air along with the humidity that soaks your uniforms with sweat. In the summer, the temperature reaches in excess of 100 degrees. The sound of aircraft flying overhead is constant and enduring along with the sounds of explosions from continually training units. The smell of gun powder and diesel fumes is overwhelming. This is all owed in part to the