Photo Gallery: Marine recruits swim through training

Photo By Cpl. MaryAnn Hill | Rct. Eric Laird, Platoon 1078, Alpha Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, helps Rct. Vincent Laroeca, Platoon 1076, put on combat gear during basic water survival qualification Aug. 12, 2013, at the recruit training pool on Parris Island, S.C. Recruits had 10 seconds to shed a flak jacket, Kevlar helmet, neck protector and plastic rifle while underwater. Water survival training was designed to raise recruits' self-confidence, reduce fear and ensure they can survive in water. Laird, a 19-year-old native of Levittown, Pa., and Laroeca, an 18-year-old native of Stroudsburg, Pa., are scheduled to graduate Oct. 11, 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 for females in the Marine Corps. (Photo by Lance Cpl. MaryAnn Hill)  

PARRIS ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES

08.21.2013

Story by Lance Cpl. MaryAnn Hill 

Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island           

PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. - Recruits of Alpha Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, learned basic water survival skills Aug. 12, 2013, at the recruit training pool on Parris Island, S.C.

Marines are amphibious by nature, so recruits must learn how to survive in the water. Alpha Company is scheduled to graduate Oct. 11, 2013.

• Date Taken: 08.21.2013
• Date Posted: 08.21.2013 14:21
• Story ID: 112331
• Location: PARRIS ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, US
• Hometown: AUXVASSE, MISSOURI, US
• Hometown: DEERFIELD, MICHIGAN, US
• Hometown: DEERFIELD BEACH, FLORIDA, US
• Hometown: FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, US
• Hometown: ORLANDO, FLORIDA, US
• Hometown: RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, US