Since 1949, all female recruits have gone through boot camp at the South Carolina base; the 4th Battalion was created in 1986 as the women's unit. Inside the pool, men and women struggle side by side, jumping off a platform and swimming to the other end. Some measure of all-male companies would be necessary no matter what because there just are not enough female recruits to go around. The split, she said, divided them into “male Marines” and “female Marines,” and that shaped the men’s view of the women and made it more difficult for them to work together as they moved along. Young female recruits, who usually come from high schools where there is little separation, acknowledge the differences but voice no complaints.

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Persons: Marine Base Parris, “, —, It's, Ash Carter, Carter, stridently, it's, Walker Field, ”, We’re, Aixa Dones, Dones, Maria Torres, Erin Kirk, Kirk, Nicole Momura, Nubia Delatorre, “ We’re, Delatorre Organizations: Marine Base, Marine Corps, Marines, Recruit, 4th Battalion, Marine, Corps, Brig, Marine Recruit, “, Bravo Company Locations: PARRIS, Parris, South Carolina, Gen, San Diego