Photo By Staff Sgt. Sarah Ralph | Leslie Cook, a future Marine with Recruiting Sub-Station South Bay, Recruiting Station...... read more read more
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Leslie Cook with Recruiting Sub-Station South Bayand Yasmine Delarosa with Recruiting Sub-Station Lakewood, are both future Marines under Recruiting Station Orange County and on the path to make history in the United States Marine Corps by being a part of the first female platoon to attend recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego on January 25, 2021.
Both Cook and Delarosa originally had different shipping dates to attend recruit training, and were on standby until they both received the call a couple weeks ago asking if they would like to take on the challenge of being a part of the first female platoon trained aboard MCRD San Diego.
Cook explained that she has always wanted to attend recruit training in San Diego since it’s much closer to her hometown in Gardena, California.
“I felt like I had this intuition that this opportunity could arise for me,” says Cook. “As soon as the news hit the media, I contacted my recruiter immediately asking if this was an option for me.”
Both Delarosa and Cook come from military families and are both wanting to continue the legacy of those who came before them.
“My grandfather served in World War II,” explains Delarosa. “I’ve always wanted to serve in the military in order to continue on the tradition.”
Both future Marines explained that they are extremely excited to be taking on this challenge, and have been changing their training routines to prepare for the rigors they may encounter during boot camp in San Diego.
“My recruiters have been extremely helpful in challenging me during physical training,” says Cook. “Staff Sgt. Shank doesn’t take excuses at our station, he expects us to work as a team and persevere to get the training done. Lately we’ve been running hills with a pack, and making sure to max out on repetitions.”
Cook and Delarosa know there has been some controversy on the topic of females attending recruit training in San Diego, but both take the negative commentary as a challenge.
“A lot of people are so stuck in the past,” says Delarosa. “They never want to move forward in life. People need to realize that they need to be better today, than they were yesterday. Focus on becoming the person you want to be, the rest is just background noise.”
Cook shared she has some internal tension because although she does take this as a challenge, she wants to be able to live up to the expectations.
“I don’t want to fail and take this opportunity away from someone else,” says Leslie. “However, I won’t stop believing in myself. Because once you stop believing in yourself, you’re allowing those looking from the outside in- the win.”
Both of these young women hold some of the top fitness scores when compared to the other females who are in Recruiting Station Orange County’s delayed entry program. They have exceeded the expectations that are required of applicants when trying to join the Marine Corps.
Cook and Delarosa will become a part of Lima Company when arriving at the Depot, and will commence training after a 14-day self-quarantine to ensure the safety of all recruits from COVD-19.
| Date Taken: | 01.13.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 01.13.2021 17:54 |
| Story ID: | 386863 |
| Location: | SANTA ANA , CA, US |
| Web Views: | 689 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Recruiting Station Orange County Future Female Marines Go On to Make History, by SSgt Sarah Ralph, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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