17-Year-Old Marine Corps Recruit Practices Her Roar at Boot Camp

Women were first allowed to enroll in the US Marines (for clerical duty) in 1918. Over 300 of them entered the Corps that year, and they were immediately nicknamed the “Marinettes.”

Today women comprise around 7% of the Marine Corps and serve in 93% of its occupational fields. Very recently, three women made history by passing the combat endurance test required for Corps officer screening, and the Marine Corps has opened up an experimental task force with 25% female soldiers to evaluate future possibilities for women in ground combat.

This photo, from 2003, shows Megan Shipley from Tennessee, then age 17.

Image via Getty