The Marines of Lima Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, is a co-ed company, first for the region
The platoon of women trained along five all-male platoons, a model that was first tested out in South Carolina
Six female drill instructors helped to teach the class when their training began in February
Two weeks ago, the Marines earned their titles by completing the Crucible, which consists of three days of hiking and completing small exercises using lessons from the months of boot camp
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, graduates were only able to invite two guests to Thursday s ceremony
Female US Marines take on gruelling Crucible training for first time
The arduous challenge is required of recruits hoping to graduate from the historically all-male base
24 April 2021 • 8:42am
A female recruit (R) from US Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego participates in the gruelling crucible training
Credit: Mike Blake/Reuters
More than 50 new female Marines have completed the gruelling Crucible training exercise at a San Diego base for the first time in the service s 100-year history.
The three-day challenge is one of the most arduous in the US military and is required of recruits hoping to graduate from the historically all-male Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego.
53 Women Officially Become Marines at Formerly All-Male Boot Camp
Recruits with Lima Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, participate in the Bayonet Assault course at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, March 24, 2021. (Lance Cpl. Zachary T. Beatty/U.S. Marine Corps)
22 Apr 2021
Dozens of new female Marines completed the grueling final exercise required of recruits in boot camp this week, setting them up to become the first women in the service’s history to graduate from the historically all-male Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.
Fifty-three women in the first-ever coed company to train at the Marine Corps’ West Coast training base completed the Crucible Thursday morning. The demanding three-day event is the culminating exercise at boot camp, and the recruits were presented with the coveted eagle, globe and anchor pins afterward and called Marines for the first time.
Female Marines are first women to take-on grueling, three-day boot camp called the Crucible at base in San Diego that used to only train men
A total of 53 women trained in the first-ever coed company at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
Their final task was to complete what the training base calls the Crucible, a mammoth boot camp which began on Tuesday and wrapped-up on Thursday
The Crucible s tasks include target practice, an obstacle course, and a grueling 9.7 mile hike while carrying a 60 pound backpack
For the first time, women become Marines at San Diego recruit depot 3 hours ago Marine Corps Recruit Jazzmin Stewart with Lima Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, shoots in the sitting position during a slow-fire drill as part of the prequalifications at Edson Range aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, April 11. (Sgt. Sarah Ralph/Marine Corps) For the first time in history women were handed an Eagle, Globe and Anchor and made Marines at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. While boot camp is still not over for the 53 women in Lima Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, they did complete the crucible Thursday morning, earning the title of Marine.