[custom_adv] More than 50 new female Marines became the first women to take on a notorious three day boot camp called the Crucible at a Marines base which has only just opened its doors to women.For the first time in its 100-year history, a total of 53 women joined their male colleagues in the first-ever coed company at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, according to Military.com. [custom_adv] Their final task was to complete the Crucible, which began on Tuesday and ended on Thursday.It involves target practice, hand-to-hand combat, a grueling assault course which includes mud baths and high climbs, and an exhausting 9.7 mile hike while carrying a 50 pound backpack. [custom_adv] Those recruits who managed to complete the three-day event were presented with the eagle, globe and anchor pins. He said the female platoon 'won all the physical events'. [custom_adv] Other impressive feats for the platoon included their scores on the rifle range, which were also higher than the average female platoon at the training base in South Carolina. [custom_adv] The recruits first arrived at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego boot camp in February.A total of 60 women were among those who joined the coed company, ending Depot San Diego's history as a men-only institution.In 2019, Congress ordered the San Diego boot camp to integrate women into its training battalions by 2028. The Parris Island depot in South Carolina must do so by 2025. [custom_adv] Until now, all female recruits have attended boot camp at the Marines' East Coast training base in Parris Island. It also has been home to the occasional integrated recruit company. [custom_adv] Staff Sgt Ayesha Zantt, a Marine drill instructor, recently transferred to San Diego from Parris Island, where she has led recruits since 2017. Women training in San Diego is a big step for the Marines, she said. [custom_adv] 'It's history,' she said at the time. 'It's important.'Just like the all-male companies trained in San Diego over the years, the women's platoon lived in a squad bay in the company's barracks. [custom_adv] Capt Ashley Sands oversaw three Lima Company platoons as lead series commander, including the women's.Col Matt Palma, the commanding officer of the recruit training regiment, said the women of Lima Company endured the same training obstacles as the men — including the grueling 'Reaper' hike at Camp Pendleton that is part of the last phase of training. [custom_adv] During the hike, recruits traverse rugged terrain and charge up a steep ridge while carrying 55-pound packs.The Marines are decades behind other military services, which integrated their recruit training by the 1990s. [custom_adv] Palma said that the depot has most of the facilities needed to integrate in San Diego, but there aren't enough women recruits to have integrated companies all the time, he said. Women only comprise about 8 per cent of the Marine Corps. [custom_adv] Lima Company will serve as a 'proof of concept,' which means it will be used to demonstrate that San Diego can effectively train women alongside men. The depot has requested to train another cohort of women this summer but is still waiting on a decision, Palma said.
