Recruits of Mike Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion,

Recruits of Mike Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, form for a martial arts training session March 10, 2014, on Parris Island, S.C. Recruits learn defensive and offensive techniques from the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program throughout the first month of training. They are tested on these techniques and must pass the first level of the program to earn a tan belt and continue training. The program is designed to increase the war fighting capabilities of individual Marines and units, enhance Marines’ self-confidence and esprit de corps and foster the warrior ethos in all Marines. Mike Company is scheduled to graduate May 23, 2014. Parris Island has been the site of Marine Corps recruit training since Nov. 1, 1915. Today, approximately 20,000 recruits come to Parris Island annually for the chance to become United States Marines by enduring 13 weeks of rigorous, transformative training. Parris Island is home to entry-level enlisted training for 50 percent of males and 100 percent of females in the Marine Corps. (Photo by Cpl. Caitlin Brink)