More women train at famed boot camp
Marine Corps expanding gender integration at legendary Parris Island
PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. – Drill instructors dashed between the ranks, shouting orders as recruits repeatedly pressed 30-pound ammunition cans over their heads or slung their buddies over their shoulders and took off running against the clock.
It could have been any early morning at the Marine Corps’ legendary boot camp, where generations of recruits endured physical hardships and stress to earn the Corps’ coveted symbol: the eagle, globe and anchor. But today many of the drill instructors shouting orders at frightened recruits are women.
It’s a cultural shift for the Marine Corps, the most male-dominated of the military services, as it expands gender integration in its boot camp and opportunities for women throughout its ranks.
“People have to come here and see it for themselves in order to dispel the myths,” said Lt. Col. Misty Posey, commander of the 4th recruit training battalion. The training for women is identical to what the men endure: “When they’re training side by side, they know they are part of the same thing.”
The Marine Corps is an infantry-centric force that traditionally contained the smallest percentage of women, now about 8%, within its active-duty ranks. Women make up about 16% of the overall active-duty military force.
Women have been part of the military for generations, but their roles have traditionally been limited. In 2015, the Pentagon ordered that the services develop plans to remove the final barriers preventing women from holding ground combat jobs, such as the infantry, tanks and artillery.
Today, no job within the military is closed to women.
The Marine Corps said it hasn’t set a quota for women but is emphasizing attracting women into the force. Recruiters are focusing on female athletes because they have traditionally shown an interest in the Marines.
The latest group of recruits shipped to Marine basic training or officer candidate school is 10.7% female, the highest percentage yet.
Macy Lyle, 19, of Dayton, Ohio, who graduated from boot camp here last week, said she wanted to disprove a public perception that women can’t hack the physical and mental challenges of recruit training.
“I look at it as a chance to prove everyone wrong and also to prove something to myself,” she said.
Some advocates would like to see the Marine Corps move even faster, pointing out that the other services have fully integrated basic training. “They should just have a policy that everything is in- tegrated,” said Nancy Duff Campbell of the Women’s National Law Center.
But Marine commanders are sensitive to changes that might undermine the standards of Marine training. They say they have approached the changes methodically and point out that the Marine Corps has made changes regularly over its history.
“Our training, our organization and how we operate has continually evolved through time,” Gen. Glenn Walters, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, told USA TODAY after a visit to Parris Island.
Parris Island holds a special place in the Marine Corps, a service that reveres its history and traditions.
Generations of Marines go through the same ritual here, forming bonds that last a lifetime. Recruits are loaded onto buses and driven across a causeway onto the base under the cover of darkness.
On base, the tired, anxious and confused recruits are confronted by a drill instructor shouting at them to get off the bus and stand at attention on a set of yellow footprints. They enter a set of doors under a large sign: “Through these portals pass prospects for America’s fighting force.” Few who enter those portals ever forget those initial few hours or the drill instructors who turn them into Marines during 13 weeks of basic training.
The Marine Corps wants to change attitudes so male and female Marines are accustomed to working together from their first weeks in the Corps.
Men and women live in separate squad bays but come together for most physical training, drill or classroom work. Drill instructors are encouraged to find opportunities to train men and women together.
“They treat every recruit the same,” said Pfc. Angel Tipping, 23, who graduated last week from recruit training.
Tipping said she was looking for discipline and structure. “It’s what I found in the Marine Corps,” she said. “I learned a lot about myself.”
“People have to come here and see it for themselves in order to dispel the myths.” Lt. Col. Misty Posey Commander, 4th recruit training battalion