high school, but it wasn’t enough to prepare them for life in the United States.

“Sometimes I would want to say something, but I didn’t know how to say it in English,” said Estrada.

They used their native language to translate and decipher what the other one didn’t understand, said Staff Sgt. Paul Ruiz, senior drill instructor, Platoon 3003.

The two Marines remembered getting into trouble as a pair. Adrian said if he got singled out by a drill instructor, he knew his uncle’s name was going to be called next.

Apart from the major lifestyle adjustment and occasional homesickness, a physical problem also arose for one of them.

Adrian lacked the strength for the hikes during field week, a week when recruits spend the majority of their time in the field at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. Up until the “Reaper Hike” Adrian always fell into the back of the formation, said Estrada.

When the test came for I Company to hike a total of 10 miles and climb the 700-foot hill, however, Adrian showed his true Marine nature and accomplished his mission without a struggle.

Having persevered through the challenges in recruit training, Adrian and his uncle are excited about graduating from boot camp and the path leading them to Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton.

After MCT, the two will go their separate ways for military occupational specialty school where Adrian will study to become an aircraft maintenance technician and Estrada will pursue a career in legal administration.

Even when they part ways, they will accomplish and do great things, said Ruiz.