Mike Company – Pugil Sticks – May 23, 2016 by MCRD Parris Island, SC Via Flickr: A recruit with Mike Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, prepares to strike an opponent May 23, 2016, on Parris Island, S.C. Recruits fight using pugil sticks, which represent rifles with fixed bayonets, to simulate a close encounter with an enemy. Mike Company is scheduled to graduate Aug. 5, 2016. Parris Island has been the site of Marine Corps recruit training since Nov. 1, 1915. Today, approximately 19,000 recruits come to Parris Island annually for the chance to become United States Marines by enduring 12 weeks of rigorous, transformative training. Parris Island is home to entry-level enlisted training for approximately 49 percent of male recruits and 100 percent of female recruits in the Marine Corps. (Photo by Cpl. Richard Currier)
