Young men and women from across the country sprint

Young men and women from across the country sprint off a bus and onto the yellow footprints Dec. 16, 2013, on Parris Island, S.C. These young men, recruits of Kilo Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, and young women, recruits of November Company, 4th Recruit Training Battalion, selflessly volunteered to be transformed mentally, morally and physically in hopes of joining the nation's most elite fighting force - the United States Marine Corps. Both companies are scheduled to graduate March 14, 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)