We make Marines by recruiting quality young men and women and transforming them through the foundations of rigorous basic training, our shared legacy, and a commitment to our core values, preparing them to win our nation’s battles in service to the country.
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Sgt. Luke Boisselle, a drill instructor with Hotel Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, conducts incentive training on Marine Corps Recruit Depot...
Pvt. Daniel Capes, a Marine with Fox Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, is given his Eagle Globe and Anchor on Marine Corps Recruit Depot...
The We Make Marines sign covered in a blanket of snow on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., Jan. 22, 2025.
Recruits with India Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, conduct the Crucible aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., Jan. 30,...
With one year left in her enlistment contract in the U.S. Army, Sgt. Alexis Banks had to decide what
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When one recruit took his place on the parade deck to receive his Eagle Globe and Anchor, it was a moment filled with pride and loss—a hard-won tribute to the mother who inspired him to join the Corps and stood by him in spirit as he became a Marine October 19, 2024.
Pvt. Zachery Thurber, a Marine with India Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, stood before the Iwo Jima monument on the Peatross Parade Deck, ready to receive his Eagle, Globe, and Anchor from his senior drill instructor. The last person Zachery expected to see was his father, Sgt. Maj. William Thurber (USMC, Ret.), and was shocked beyond belief when he stepped in front of him.
For one Marine, boot camp graduation was more than just a ceremony, it was the realization of a lifelong dream. “Seeing my father serve and his graduation pictures from over 30 years ago, that’s what I wanted. That was my dream,” said Lance Cpl. Sean Fang.
“I was about to show him the gas chamber, I heard him say ‘I’m going to-,’ and I looked back, and he was face down in the grass on the side of the road,” said VanDuyne.
The chaos and tragedy of the war in Iraq left Audai Naser and his wife Kanat Saad with few options. The war had already forced them to move countless times, relocating from the capital of Baghdad, to the city of Kirkuk, and eventually settling in Karbala.
Staring out the window, Oluwagbemiga Omotoye saw the skyline of Washington, D.C. as his plane landed at Dulles International Airport. He and his family had traveled nearly 8,000 miles from South Africa and the city was a welcomed sight. The United States represented change and new opportunities for Omotoye, who was 17 years old at the time. His family’s desire for coming to America was simple—to gain prosperity and be able to share that with their family members who remained in South Africa.