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Recruits of India Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, practiced the fundamentals of marksmanship March 14-18, 2016, on Parris Island, S.C. Recruits spend a week learning and practicing marksmanship fundamentals before shooting live rounds the following week. The Marine Corps has a proud heritage of marksmanship and teaches recruits that every Marine is a rifleman. India Company is scheduled to graduate April 29, 2016. (Video by Pfc. Carlin Warren)

Recruits of Delta Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, begin a timed half-mile sprint during a combat fitness test April 15, 2014, on Parris Island, S.C. The CFT is comprised of three scored events that help measure combat readiness. The test is an annual training requirement for all Marines. Delta Company is scheduled to graduate May 2, 2014. (Photo by Cpl. Octavia Davis)

When Marine Corps officials couldn’t find Sgt. James A. Reeves to present him the combat award he earned in Vietnam, they gave it to his parents. After 48 years, Reeves was surprised when his buddies from boot camp arranged for him to be formally presented with the Silver Star, the nation’s third highest military combat award, during the morning colors ceremony April 25, 2014, on Parris Island, S.C. Over the past two years, members of his recruit training platoon used multiple social media sites to contact and invite him to their 50-year reunion here. Reeves earned the award March 28, 1966, during the Vietnam War while he was serving with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. During Operation Indiana, Reeves’ platoon came under heavy automatic weapons fire and suffered numerous casualties. Reeves unhesitatingly left his position of relative safety and maneuvered across the fire-swept terrain to help his wounded comrades. While returning to inform his platoon commander of the situation, his helmet was struck by a round, knocking him violently to the ground. After quickly recovering, he continued to trek toward his command group, to which he provided information of the casualties. He then navigated back to the wounded Marines and helped move them to a helicopter landing zone so they could be evacuated. (Photo by Cpl. MaryAnn Hill)

Sgt. Steven Procter, senior drill instructor for Platoon 1034, Alpha Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, shows his recruits a photo of himself before he joined the Marine Corps during a guided discussion about commitment on March 18, 2014, on Parris Island, S.C. Procter, a 29-year-old from Lincoln, R.I., shared his story of shedding more than 100 pounds to join the Corps’ ranks in hopes that his recruits would be inspired by his dedication. Marine Corps boot camp is inherently stressful, but recruits must remain committed to their decisions to enlist if they hope to graduate and serve with honor. Alpha Company is scheduled to graduate May 30, 2014. (Photo by Cpl. Octavia Davis)

Rct. Andrew Cabrera, Platoon 1029, Delta Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, looks through his weapon’s sights March 18, 2014, on Parris Island, S.C. Recruits aim their unloaded weapons at a white barrel painted with targets that replicate what they will see at various distances. Recruits spent numerous hours each day practicing marksmanship fundamentals. Cabrera, a 19-year-old from Garnerville, N.Y., is scheduled to graduate May 2, 2014. (Photo by Cpl. Octavia Davis)

]]> About Faces <[[ We ask recruits currently in training why they decided to endure 13 weeks of boot camp to earn the title of United States Marine. Here’s what one said: “I joined the Marine Corps to better my life and to prove to myself and to my family that I can overcome any obstacle – physical and mental.”  Rct. Steven Shenofsky Platoon 1028, Delta Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion Age: 23 Hometown: Toledo, Ohio  (Photo by Cpl. Octavia Davis)

Staff Sgt. Brian Sixto, a drill instructor for Platoon 3034, encourages Rct. Edgar Barua-Gomez, Platoon 3034, Mike Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, to respond to orders March 12, 2014, during an incentive training session on Parris Island, S.C. Discipline, defined as the instant and willing obedience to all orders, respect for authority and self-reliance, is a key trait drill instructors like Sixto, 28, from Hobson, Texas, must instill in recruits. Barua-Gomez, 23, from Kensington, Md., is scheduled to graduate May 23, 2014. (Photo by Cpl. Caitlin Brink)