Devil Pups is a unique experience aboard an active military base for good boys and girls aged 14 to 17.

The Devil Pups Youth Program for America is a rigorous physical and academic good citizenship program for teenagers. It is essential to recognize that the program emphasizes mental development more than physical activity, embodying the ‘whole person’ concept. The program’s foundations are intellectual, spiritual, social, and physical.

The program is not a ‘mini boot camp’ or a recruiting organization for the Marine Corps.

The 10-day program includes outdoor physical exercises, inspiring classroom lectures, and demonstrations of Marine Corps operations. All activities during both segments are supervised by our Encampment Commander and his executive staff (employees of Devil Pups, Inc.). Each day, the running, diving, and hiking exercises are combined with engaging classroom sessions. Our “Role Model” classroom segments are conducted by a diverse group of board members, veterans, and Devil Pups alumni.

Before they can graduate on Day 10, participants must conquer the most challenging obstacle Camp Pendleton has to offer…Ole’ Smokey. It’s the tallest peak on the 125,000-acre Marine Corps Base; the same peak that new Marines ascend at the end of Boot Camp. In a sunset ceremony on the mountain’s summit, they are officially inducted as Devil Pups with the gift of a challenge coin, presented with a firm handshake from their instructors. On the last day of the camp, we hold a graduation ceremony that friends and family are invited to attend. We receive stories every year from parents who are amazed by the positive change they see in their child when they pick them up at graduation. One parent shared, “We sent our son to you as a child with a dream. You returned him to us as a young man with a purpose. What more could a mother wish for her son?”

Ensuring the success of our experience at Camp Pendleton requires dedication throughout the year and nearly a hundred volunteers from the Western United States. We welcome teens from California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Montana, and New Mexico. Since 1954, we have graduated over 55,000 Devil Pups.