Tri-Service
The First Day These New Recruits Will Never Forget
In the United States women have been able to join the Marines for decades, but a recent decision from the Department of Defense has allowed women to apply for any combat role, providing they meet the requirements set across the board.
In the first of our special reports from Parris Island, where every female marine in the US completes their basic training, we are with the new recruits as they first step foot on base.
From the moment they arrive by the bus load their civilian lives become a thing of the past.
New recruits at Parris Island are given a speech about their new responsibilities and then pass through the iconic silver doors, signifying their transition into marine life - and they're certainly not eased in.
No personal items are allowed for the duration of their 13 weeks here.
That means no mobile phones, no books, not even their own toiletries.
The new recruits are allowed a single phone call home but it's not exactly personal!
They have a script they have to stick to word for word, and this is the only time they will get to call home for the next three months.
Although arrivals and some classes are mixed, the female and male recruits live separately.
They are assigned their beds, weapons and the drill sergeants that will guide them on their journey from here.
For many of these new recruits the next 13 weeks will be the toughest of their life so far, transitioning from civilian to earn the title of US marine, and this is just the beginning.
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