Photo Gallery: Marine recruits begin journey to title on Parris Island foot prints [Image 2 of 12]

PARRIS ISLAND, SC, UNITED STATES

10.21.2013

Photo by Cpl. Caitlin Brink 

Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island           

Sgt. Edgar Gonzalez, a senior drill instructor, prepares to send future recruits of Mike Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, into the receiving building Oct. 21, 2013, on Parris Island, S.C. For these young men, stepping through the silver doors symbolized the transition from civilians to Marine recruits of Mike Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, and the beginning of their transformation into United States Marines. Gonzalez, 32, from Perry, Fla., is one of a handful of drill instructors responsible for preparing new recruits for training. Mike Company is scheduled to graduate Jan. 17, 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)

• Date Taken: 10.21.2013
• Date Posted: 10.28.2013 18:18
• Photo ID: 1041969
• VIRIN: 131021-M-FS592-235
• Resolution: 5760x3840
• Size: 6.77 MB
• Location: PARRIS ISLAND, SC, US
• Hometown: PERRY, FL, US