The 80-year history of Women Marines at Parris Island
By Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Yarbrough
U.S. Marine Corps
MCRD PARRIS ISLAND
Women have worked and trained at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island since 1943. For the past 80 years, the Marine Corps has used the depot and recruit training as the foundation to define the roles and responsibilities for servicewomen.
As the Marine Corps prepares for 21 century warfare, the roles of women in uniform have become indistinguishable from men— and so has their training.
Women in World War I
In 1917, the United States ultimately decided to join the Allied Powers and fight in World War I. Men from across the nation swiftly volunteered for military duty. High casualties in Europe led to a shortage of battle-ready Marines to serve at the war front in France.
The Commandant of the Marine Corps at the time, Maj. Gen. George Barnett, requested a study to determine how many jobs within the Marine Corps could be performed by women. The estimates concluded about 40 percent of jobs within the Marine Corps at the time could be performed by women.
As a result, in August of 1918 the Department of the Navy approved the Marine Corps’ request to allow women to enroll as reservists for clerical services. Opha May Johnson, who was already working at the Marine Corps’ headquarters through the civil service program, became the first woman Marine reservist on August 12, 1918.
Over the next year, 305 women would be enlisted into the Marine Corps Reserves with many serving as clerks at the service headquarters in Washington D.C., at recruiting stations across the country, and at the Marine Corps Publicity Bureau.
Following the armistice to end World War I, the Commandant issued an order on August 11, 1919, to move all women Marines to inactive status. Although women served as Marines for only a brief time during the war, their service would pave the way for women during World War II.
Training Women during World War II
On December 7, 1941, the bombing of Pearl Harbor propelled the U.S. into World War II. Two years later, there was again a shortage of combat troops to support the needs of the Marine Corps.
In response, the service began enlisting women and established the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve in 1943. That year, more than 19,000 women would join the Marine Corps.
For their training, women attended a six-week bootcamp at Hadnot Point aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. Col. Ruth Streeter, who had been selected to lead the Women’s Reserve, insisted women should be trained like men and learn hand-to-hand combat, weapons systems, and close order drill. The female recruits would ultimately be taught by 18 male drill instructors from Parris Island.
Following boot camp, women would be assigned an occupational specialty. Society at the time considered only certain jobs suitable for women and in the Marine Corps only 30 job fields were initially opened to women with many revolving around administrative work in offices, classrooms, hospitals, and libraries.
Parris Island was one of the seven bases on the East Coast where women could be stationed. By 1944, more than 600 women were on duty at Parris Island.
Many of the jobs filled by women aboard the base included clerical work, where they served at the commanding general’s building, the paymaster’s office, and in the recruit depot headquarters. However, as the war continued and women proved themselves capable of performing military jobs, women would be assigned as mechanics, drivers, and even welders.
Of the women assigned to Parris Island, more than 200 women worked at Marine Corps Air Station Page Field as part of the Aviation Women’s Squadron II. These women served as air traffic controllers, guiding takeoffs and landings, and reading weather and flight data.
Due to the high number of women assigned to Parris Island, the base constructed 13 buildings in 1944 to support the Women Reserves which included barracks, office spaces, a chow hall, and a recreational building. These facilities were separate from the male facilities to provide areas of privacy and modesty for women Marines.
Throughout the war, more than 1,000 women would be stationed at Parris Island and women would be assigned to 225 job specialties in 16 of the 21 functional fields of the Marine Corps. However, the Women Reserves would be demobilized in 1945 with all women at Parris Island being discharged by the following year.
Establishing the Women Marines and recruit training
At the end of World War II, women’s role in the military was seen as temporary. However, military leaders, most notably Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, saw the benefit of women having permanent roles within the military should the U.S. need to mobilize for war in the future.
In 1948, the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act was signed by President Harry S. Truman, which provided for a separate women’s corps within each branch of the military.
The Marine Corps’ goal initially was to enlist 830 women in the regular Marine Corps from members and former members of the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. However due to a low number of applications, the Marine Corps opened enlistment to non-veteran women to meet their enlistment goal.
To train the enlisted women, the Marine Corps established 3rd Battalion at Parris Island and recruit training for women aboard the base began March 1, 1949.
Approximately 150 women would arrive every three-and-a-half weeks for boot camp, which consisted of a total of 264 hours of training. At the time, women and men received relatively the same training except women received additional hygiene courses and did not have combat training.
Male drill instructors taught the women close order drill, first aid, chemical warfare, and general military subjects. In addition, women would witness mortar instruction on the range to become familiar with the sound of gunfire.
The 1950s and 1960s
The beginning of the Korean War conflict in 1950, increased the need for women to replace men for combat billets. The Marine Corps, along with the other services, increased their recruitment goals for women to join the military.
The duration of boot camp at Parris Island increased throughout the 1950s from six weeks to 10 weeks. A new four-week General Office Procedures Course was added to the curriculum for women to prepare them with the necessary clerical background for their assigned jobs. Additionally, a physical fitness program was tested to improve the general physical condition of women.
Training beyond boot camp became available to Women Marines in occupations such as Naval Justice, Control Tower, and Disbursing. Schools such as Marine Corps Amphibious School and Command and Staff College were also available to female officers. Additionally, overseas assignments increased for women allowing them to be stationed in countries like Japan, Panama, and the Philippines following recruit training.
The 1970s: A whirlwind of change
Societal changes of the 1960s, especially the women’s rights movement, challenged the military to modernize and change their approach to the employment of servicewomen.
The U.S. military had sent large numbers of troops to fight in the Vietnam War. The antiwar, anti-establishment attitude of the late 1960 and 1970s caused manpower shortages across the military. In response to competition resulting from increased opportunities for women in the private sector the military offered expanded roles for women to meet military quotas.
In 1967, the Marshall Commission removed the policy that limited women to only 2% of the armed forces and restricted promotions. Draft calls were slowly reduced, and the military turned to women to compensate for the projected shortfall of male recruits.
The Marine Corps disbanded the Women Marine Program in 1977, and eliminated the separate command structures to allow for women to be further integrated within the Marine Corps. In 1978, the Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Louis H. Wilson Jr. mandated that all regulations differentiating between men and women should have a valid and rational purpose. This applied to recruiting standards, which had set a higher standard for women in terms of education level, mental aptitude, and physical standards.
The 1970s saw immense change for women in recruit training. In 1973, the Marine Corps implemented a new training syllabus for female recruits that placed an increased emphasis on academics. Additionally, physical fitness training became required for all Women Marines. A physical fitness test was developed which included a one-and-a-half mile run, sit-ups, and a flexed arm hang.
As the military shifted to an all-volunteer force, even more job opportunities were opened to women which caused the number of women in the enlisted ranks to balloon. To accommodate the increased number of females, the Marine Corps built a Women Marine Complex at Parris Island in 1973 to support the training for new recruits.
In 1976, the first female drill instructors graduated Drill Instructor School at Parris Island. This was a vital advancement because for the first time female Drill Instructors began independently supervising and training female recruits.
By the end of the 1970s, Women Marines made up 1.8 percent, or 3,528 of a total of 196,000 personnel in the Marine Corps.
The 1980s
The 1983 bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut highlighted the ever-increasing threat of terrorism and irregular warfare.
In response in May 1985, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Paul X. Kelley issued an order that women “must be trained in defensive combat techniques and operations in the event of unforeseen hostile activity.”
As a result, women recruits began qualifying with the M16A2 service rifle during recruit training at Parris Island. Additionally, women received Basic Warrior Training covering lessons in cover and concealment, gas chamber training, throwing live grenades, and helicopter embarkation. This training provided the basic rifleman skills needed to operate in a hostile environment. Additional requirements to include negotiating the obstacle course and bayonet training would be added as graduation requirements for women Marines by the late 1980s.
In 1986, the Women Marines Recruit Training Battalion was disbanded to create 4th Recruit Training Battalion under the Recruit Training Regiment, which resulted in a single chain of command for recruit training. As a result, all recruits regardless of gender received the same training program of instruction and were required to complete the same graduation events to earn the title U.S. Marine.
The 1990s and the Crucible
During the 1990s, training curriculums between men and women were mirrored, however, male and female companies trained separately.
By 1996, the Marine Corps was at an institutional crossroad. Gen. Charles Krulak, who was the commandant, believed the Marine Corps needed to reinforce the organization’s core values of honor, courage, and commitment. He knew emphasizing values-based training and application of our time proven leadership traits and principles was foundational to the Marines Corps’ continued success in winning our Nation’s battles.
Krulak wanted a defining moment in boot camp — a “gut check” — that required physical stamina and one that would bond all Marines. He named this event the Crucible, a 54-hour training event that would be a trial by fire for all recruits.
To accommodate the Crucible, recruit training was extended to 12 weeks. The incorporation of the Crucible also resulted in female Marines transitioning to Camp Geiger for Marine Combat Training following recruit graduation.
To this day, the Crucible remains the culminating event for all Marines at recruit training.
The 21st Century
The long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq caused the U.S. military to reevaluate the closure of combat arms job fields to female service members. In 2015, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter ordered all military occupations and positions open to women.
This order enabled women Marines to enlist in job fields to include infantry, reconnaissance, and artillery. This change required training to become integrated for men and women, particularly at the School of Infantry.
In 2019, the Marine Corps tested and graduated the first gender integrated company at Parris Island. The company graduated one platoon of female Marines and five platoons of male Marines. This was the first time in Marine Corps history males and females had graduated within the same recruit training company.
In the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, lawmakers mandated that the Marine Corps integrate all training for men and women at both Parris Island and Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.
Additional integrated companies were gradually added, and the Marine Corps has continued to increase the number of gender integrated companies in recruit training each year at Parris Island. Presently, men and women are training together in all battalions at Parris Island.
Additionally, to meet the Congressional Mandate, the Marine Corps has also begun to permanently assign female drill instructors to San Diego to enable integrated training, with the first gender integrated company graduating in 2021. Additional integrated companies are being added and in the near future each depot will train fifty percent of the enlisted females, with those east of the Mississippi going to Parris Island, and those in the west going to San Diego. These women Marines will also train at the respective coast’s School of Infantry after recruit training.
The Future
The Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger believes current and future threats call for a significantly more capable force. In his vision for Force Design 2030, Berger is redesigning the Corps to ensure Marines maintain a competitive warfighting advantage against any potential adversary.
On May 3, Berger announced the 4th Recruit Training Regiment at Parris Island would be deactivated in June in an effort to standardize recruit training for men and women at both recruit depots. Berger said the Marine Corps will capitalize on the gained logistic and training efficiencies from integrated training and will reorganize its recruit training personnel structure to facilitating a closer organizational structure alignment between the two recruit training depots.
“This is a moment to celebrate the legacy of so many of our Marines who made the transformation through 4th Recruit Training Battalion,” said Gen. David H. Berger, the Commandant of the Marine Corps. “It’s also a moment to celebrate progress. I’m proud to see our male and female recruits benefit from having access to the quality of all our leaders — at Parris Island and San Diego — through an unchanging, tough, and realistic recruit training curriculum.”
According to Berger, training and education will lay the foundation and set the pace for force development.
“Rigorous standards will continue to form the foundation for all training,” Berger said. “We will continue to build upon the legacy of the generations of Marines who came before us, holding fast to our immutable high standards as we make and develop new generations of Marines.”
