MCRD San Diego

Physical restrictions have allowed for few changes at the Recruit Depot in recent years, but training procedures and techniques have been modified to take in the recruit prospects and produce the highest quality graduate, a basic Marine. Drill instructors have been chosen with extreme care and thoroughly indoctrinated in the procedures required to assure the proper mental and physical training of each recruit. The drill instructor utilizes example and other leadership techniques to gradually bring his platoon from the recruit status to that of a Marine ready for whatever may be required of him. The San Diego Recruit Depot produces Marines possessed of the best of past experience together with the mental and physical dexterity provided by the latest Marine instructional techniques and equipment.

As always, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at San Diego and its allied installations in the San Diego area have stood ready, with the rest of the Marine Corps, to do their part in honoring the tradition of their service as being "the first to fight."

As part of the efforts to protect the health and welfare of the force, it is essential to support measures to reduce occupancy of various public spaces aboard Marine Corps Installations.  In furtherance of this goal, the Depot Command Museum, and MCCS facilities, inclusive of the gym and PX aboard this installation are closed to all non-permanent personnel until such time as health conditions permit wider use by visiting service members and the public.  We regret any inconvenience this may cause, and appreciate your support as we work to balance our critical military training mission with our obligations to ensure the safety of all who transit through this installation.

Effective  Friday, March 20 at midnight, MCRD Gate Hours of Operation will shift to:

Gate 2 (Barnett Avenue) CLOSED

Gate 4 (Old Town Avenue) CLOSED

Gate 5 (Washington Street) 24/7

Effective Saturday, 21 March 2020 until further notice, all Marine Corps Community Services departments will be closed. Counseling services at Marine And Family Programs will be available via mobile contact.  All updated information on closures is posted on: www.mccsmcrd.com and on MCCS MCRD Facebook.

Defense Service Network (DSN) Dialing Instructions

The DSN is the provider of long-distance communications service for the Department of Defense (DoD). Every installation has a special DSN number and the numbers vary by world-wide location. In order to place a call using DSN, the caller must be using a military phone on an installation. Cell phones cannot dial DSN numbers. When dialing a DSN number from a United States installation to another United States installation, it is unnecessary to dial the DSN 312 area code. When dialing a DSN number to/from overseas locations, the DSN area code must be included. The operator can be reached at commercial (719) 567-1110. Please note that long distance charges may be incurred.