Drill instructors of Echo Company, 2nd Recruit Training

Drill instructors of Echo Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, ensure the safety of their recruits rappelling down a 47-foot tower March 17, 2015, on Parris Island, S.C. If a recruit loses control while descending, a drill instructor will pull on the bottom of the rope, stopping the recruit from falling. Echo Company is scheduled to graduate May 8, 2015. 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 Pfc. Vanessa Austin)