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The latest news and the coverage of news, events, videos, tweets and more from the U.S. Marine Corps.

Tag: Recruit Training

N/A - U.S. Marine Corps Pvt. Oluwagbemiga Omotoye, a Marine with Echo Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, stands ready for inspection during the Battalion Commander's Inspection on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., July 5 2024. The inspection is the battalion commander's last time to inspect his Marines and correct any deficiencies before the Marines complete recruit training. (U.S. Marine Corps Depot photo by Lance Cpl. William Horsley)

Honor and Legacy: A South African Marine's pursuit to honor his family through military service

Staring out the window, Oluwagbemiga Omotoye saw the skyline of Washington, D.C. as his plane landed at Dulles International Airport. He and his family had traveled nearly 8,000 miles from South Africa and the city was a welcomed sight. The United States represented change and new opportunities for Omotoye, who was 17-years-old at the time. His family’s desire for coming to America was simple—to gain prosperity and be able to share that with their family members who remained in South Africa.

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N/A - Pvt. William Smith, a recruit with Bravo Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, stands with Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Joint Chief of Staff Sgt. Maj. Troy Black, Marine veterans John Weant, and Dan Kovach on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., May 31, 2024. Smith’s grandfather was killed in action during the Beirut bombing in Oct. 1983 and Weant and Kovach were two Marines he served with. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Dakota Dodd)

Filling the Gap

On Oct. 23, 1983, Cpl. Dan Kovach was manning Checkpoint 8, a small outpost near the bullet ridden American University Library building in Beirut, when he heard a loud explosion. Kovach, an infantryman with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, saw two large mushroom clouds in the sky coming from the direction of the Battalion Landing Team barracks nearly a mile away.

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N/A - Brother and Sister, Billy and Lily Membreno Paz, grew up in a tight-knit family dynamic in a family of seven. With strong El Salvadorian roots, they were surrounded by a depth of culture throughout their childhood that later influenced them to both choose to enlist into the Marine Corps. Shipping from RSS Decatur, both Billy and Lily arrived at Parris Island together, with the same goal in mind: Earn the Title of United States Marine. Training simultaneously in Bravo Company, the siblings used the motivation they found in each other and their family back home to not only earn the title, but excel in doing so. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jacqueline Akamelu)

Siblings in Life, Siblings in Service

“I would tell myself, ‘We started this together, so we’re going to finish this together’,” says PFC. Lily Membreno Paz, as she explains her experience the past 13 weeks, with her brother, Billy Membreno Paz, right by her side.

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Pvt. Joshua Kaza, a Marine with Hotel Comapny, was awarded his Eagle, Globe and Anchor by his dad Lt. Col. Babu Kaza at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, April 8, 2023. The date of April 8 is providential to the family. Babu's friend, 1st Lt. Joshua Palmer, was killed in Al Anbar, Iraq on this day in 2004 and is the very person for who he named his son after. - Pvt. Joshua Kaza, a Marine with Hotel Comapny, was awarded his Eagle, Globe and Anchor by his dad Lt. Col. Babu Kaza at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, April 8, 2023. The date of April 8 is providential to the family. Babu's friend, 1st Lt. Joshua Palmer, was killed in Al Anbar, Iraq on this day in 2004 and is the very person for who he named his son after.

A Tie to the Past, A Road to the Future

The violence in Iraq was reaching its pinnacle in April 2004 as Marines bloodied their way through the first Battle of Fallujah. Sectarian clashes divided the nation as Marines with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment worked desperately to curtail the insurgency...

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Five sisters - Amber and Ashley Valentine and Maria, Melissa and Vanessa Placido Jaramillo - graduated from MCRD Parris Island, Nov. 13. - Five sisters - Amber and Ashley Valentine and Maria, Melissa and Vanessa Placido Jaramillo - graduated from MCRD Parris Island, Nov. 13.

Sisters by blood, now sisters-in-arms: Two sets of sisters graduate recruit training

Three days before her grandfather passed away, Ashley Valentine, 19, made a promise to carry on his legacy in the United States armed services. After deciding to join the Marine Corps, her sister Amber, 22, made the decision to enlist as well. “After talking with the recruiter about how it would impact my life, I was committed,” Amber said. “I was ready to go no matter what.” Amber waited for her sister to be approved medically before she went to recruit training...

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A drill instructor prepares to initiate "Lights" - the start of her platoon's morning routine - on Parris Island, S.C. July 7. - A drill instructor prepares to initiate "Lights" - the start of her platoon's morning routine - on Parris Island, S.C. July 7.