Female enlisted Marines have gone through recruit training at MCRD Parris Island, South Carolina since 1949. About 11 percent of female recruits who arrive at the boot camp fail to complete the training, which can be physically and mentally demanding. On Jan. 24, 2013 Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta lifted a ban, which had been in place since 1994, that restricted women from being attached to ground combat units. About six percent of enlisted Marines are female.

Read it at Time.