MARINE CORPS RECUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO -- Upon arriving at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego Aug. 4, many recruits show up with long hair and beards. Now that Alpha Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, is on their way to become Marines, they are learning how to live up to the Marine imagine starting with military haircuts and daily shaves.
After recruits receive their haircuts, they are taught the standard each Marine should uphold. They must follow regulations regarding hair length, weight, tattoos and piercings.
“Marines stand out because we look sharp. Drill instructors uphold the Marine Corps standard and instill it into recruits from training day one to keep the legendary tradition of the Marine Corps appearance alive,” said Sgt. Mathew R. Burns, drill instructor, Platoon 1005.
For some recruits removing piercings, cutting long hair and shaving beards was difficult. However, they are all doing it willingly to become United States Marines, explained Burns, Scranton, Pennsylvania, native.
“Having a grooming standard shows professionalism and discipline. I don’t like waking up every morning to shave, but that’s how Marines present themselves,” said recruit Oscar J. Campa, Platoon 1006. “Appearance is everything, especially as Marines.”
Haircuts are only one of the ways recruits show the Marine image, one of the biggest examples recruits follow is their drill instructors.
“Recruits blouse their boots high because that’s what drill instructors do,” said Burns. “They learn how to iron their uniforms and roll their sleeves to look good because it’s every Marine’s job to meet the Marine Corps’ standards on appearance.”
Recruits are inspected daily by drill instructors for a clean shave and trimmed nails.
“While we are waiting in line, we study Marine Corps knowledge and history,” said 18-year-old Campa, a Baldwin Park, California, native. “We also review the uniform regulations so we know how to properly piece each uniform together. The uniforms are another way to represent the Marine Corps image.”
After the recruits finished getting their haircut, they continued on with the day’s training.
Company A recruits are still going through their journey to become United States Marines. Through hard work and determination they will graduate recruit training and carry the Marine Corps image for the rest of their lives.