To read the stories of these dedicated Marines, click here. 11, here are the stories of eight dedicated Marines. I don’t know any other way to say that.”Īs we prepare to mark Veterans Day on Nov. And the some that don’t f- everything else up. “I’m proud of my service,” said Schroeder. But many in the group also noted that most Marines don’t engage in that behavior. Elena started a “Female Marines United” campaign to raise money for Headstrong, which provides mental health support to military members. There were mixed feelings within the group about changes such as more-demanding physical fitness standards for female Marines and opening all combat roles to women, but also excitement about advances such as the first female graduate of the infantry officer school and the first recruiting ad featuring a woman.Īll of the women were outraged by the Marines United scandal, though some weren’t surprised. Many mentioned military benefits that have allowed them to further their educations. Several cited supportive commanding officers. Four are married - all to current or former Marines, which comes with its own set of complications.Įven women with negative experiences said the Marine Corps gave them a lot: It made them tougher and more disciplined it provided meaningful, rewarding work. Five have combined their careers with parenthood. This necklace is the perfect statement to pair with every outfit. “It would have been easier to be a Marine if I was just invisible,” said Justine Elena, a captain in the reserve who left the service a few years ago. Do you support the Marines Show the world with the hand-stamped, The Few The Proud The Marines Necklace. “As a young woman in that time, you were easy prey,” recalled retired gunnery sergeant Carrie Ann Lynch, who enlisted in 1990. Others have stories of enduring insults, being propositioned, being stared at, feeling like they couldn’t be themselves, having to prove themselves over and over. Stephanie Schroeder said she was discharged after reporting a rape and spent years fighting for the Veterans Affairs disability benefits she now receives. To varying degrees, being a woman in the Marine Corps has tested all of them. “It just always seemed like if you could do the Marine Corps you could do anything,” said Capt. All spoke about becoming a Marine in terms of the challenge - of proving they had what it takes, and often, in the process, proving others wrong. There were areas of commonality: All but one said they were inspired to join the Marines in part because they had relatives who were in the Corps or another service some said they’d had this desire since they were tiny children. (The interviews have been edited and condensed.) We also spoke with them about their experiences in and out of the Corps, and about what they hope the photographs convey. As it was taking these steps, we reached out to current and retired female Marines to find women interested in posing for photographs that would let them define how they were portrayed, as service members, left, and as individuals, right. Thus far, it has disciplined 44 Marines, strengthened its policies for addressing social media misconduct and established a task force to look at how it recruits, trains, assigns and mentors service members in an effort to eliminate gender bias. The Corps continues to grapple with the fallout. Disturbing revelations in March made it even tougher: Male members of the 30,000-strong Marines United Facebook group had been soliciting and posting explicit photos of current and former female Marines without their permission, often accompanied by violent and obscene comments. It’s never been easy to be a woman in the Marine Corps, which is the most physically demanding branch of the military and the one with the smallest percentage of female service members: 7.6 percent. It does not store any personal data.The Few, The Proud: Women Marines Define Themselves The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
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