Photo Gallery: Parris Island recruits train to use bayonets on Parris Island [Image 5 of 9]

PARRIS ISLAND, SC, UNITED STATES

09.17.2013

Photo by Cpl. Caitlin Brink 

Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island           

Rct. Ron Dickinson stands over Rct. Michael Mejia after striking a winning blow against him during pugil stick training Sept. 17, 2013, on Parris Island, S.C. Recruits fight with pugil sticks, which represent rifles with attached bayonets, in two 15-second matches 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. Dickinson, 21, from Barre, Vt., and Mejia, 19, from Miami, are scheduled to graduate with Platoon 3089, Kilo Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, on Nov. 22, 2013. 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: 09.17.2013
• Date Posted: 09.24.2013 19:48
• Photo ID: 1025310
• VIRIN: 130917-M-FS592-560
• Resolution: 3456x2304
• Size: 1.99 MB
• Location: PARRIS ISLAND, SC, US
• Hometown: BARRE, VT, US
• Hometown: MIAMI, FL, US