PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. - After being transformed by the nation’s toughest boot camp, hundreds of new U.S. Marines graduated from Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island on Aug. 2, 2013, joining the Corps’ ranks to carry on its more than 237-year legacy.
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 for females in the Marine Corps.