New recruits of Golf Company, 2nd Recruit Training

New recruits of Golf Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, and Papa Company, 4th Recruit Training Battalion, make phone calls home Dec. 15, 2014, on Parris Island, S.C. Recruits make a 10-second pre-scripted phone call notifying next-of-kin of their safe arrival to training. The first night comes as a shock for most recruits as they deal with stress, sleep deprivation, new rules and ferocious drill instructors. Both companies are scheduled to graduate March 13, 2015. 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 Sgt. Caitlin Brink)