Rct. Daniel Sanders, Platoon 3042, India Company, 3rd

Rct. Daniel Sanders, Platoon 3042, India Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, struggles to complete a final pullup during his initial strength test March 21, 2014, on Parris Island, S.C. The test determines if a recruit is physically ready to begin training. The minimum physical fitness requirements for male recruits to begin training are 44 crunches in two minutes, three pullups and a 1 1/2-mile run in 13 minutes. Sanders, 21, from Birmingham, Ala., is scheduled to graduate June 24, 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 Cpl. Caitlin Brink)