A drill instructor of Oscar Company, 4th Recruit Training

A drill instructor of Oscar Company, 4th Recruit Training Battalion, corrects Rct. Jessica Perez’s technique during martial arts training Jan. 30, 2014, on Parris Island, S.C. The Marine Corps Martial Arts Program combines hand-to-hand combat with mental discipline and character development to help transform recruits into ethical warriors. Perez, a 19-year-old Dallas native, is scheduled to graduate with Platoon 4010 on April 4, 2014. 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 Lance Cpl. Vaniah Temple)