Sgt. Steven Procter, senior drill instructor for Platoon

Sgt. Steven Procter, senior drill instructor for Platoon 1034, Alpha Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, listens as his recruits share their reasons for joining the Marine Corps during a guided discussion March 18, 2014, on Parris Island, S.C. Procter, a 29-year-old from Lincoln, R.I., advised his recruits to remember the reasons they joined the Marine Corps, especially when training becomes stressful. Alpha Company is scheduled to graduate May 30, 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. Octavia Davis)