Marine recruits battle in simulated bayonet fight on Parris Island [Image 3 of 6]

PARRIS ISLAND, SC, UNITED STATES

02.15.2014

Photo by Lance Cpl. Vaniah Temple 

Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island           

Rct. Alejandro Rivera Rodriguez and Rct. Brian York, both with Platoon 2025, Golf Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, wait to battle in a pugil stick match Feb. 15, 2014, on Parris Island, S.C. Recruits fight with pugil sticks, which represent rifles with attached bayonets, to simulate a close encounter with an enemy. Bayonet training is part of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, which combines hand-to-hand combat skills with mental discipline and character development to help transform recruits into physically and morally sound warriors. Rivera Rodriguez, a 26-year-old native of Hollywood, Fla., and York, a 19-year-old native of Gardendale, Ala., are scheduled to graduate April 11, 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 Lance Cpl. Vaniah Temple)

• Date Taken: 02.15.2014
• Date Posted: 02.20.2014 14:12
• Photo ID: 1170969
• VIRIN: 140215-M-LQ078-064
• Resolution: 3840x5760
• Size: 12.27 MB
• Location: PARRIS ISLAND, SC, US