{"id":56303,"date":"2022-11-04T16:24:57","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T16:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/11\/04\/marines-still-oppose-integrated-boot-camp-platoons-after-2m-study\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T21:12:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T21:12:30","slug":"marines-still-oppose-integrated-boot-camp-platoons-after-2m-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2022\/11\/04\/marines-still-oppose-integrated-boot-camp-platoons-after-2m-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Marines still oppose integrated boot camp platoons after $2M study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marine Corps\u2019 path to greater <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2022\/10\/21\/marine-boot-camp-study-calls-for-mixed-gender-drill-instructor-teams\/\" target=\"_blank\">gender-integration at boot camp<\/a> has been fraught with fears that turned out to be unfounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2015, a Marine spokesman said in a statement that recruits, who arrived on the yellow footprints with \u201cimmature, undeveloped and unfocused thoughts,\u201d had to train divided by gender to limit distractions and bond with their same-gender drill instructor role model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The following year, Brig. Gen. Austin \u201cSparky\u201d Renforth, then commander of Marine Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, moved to gender-integrate some \u201c70%\u201d of boot camp training events, acting on a tasker from then-Commandant Gen. Robert Neller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2017, Renforth <a href=\"https:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2017\/06\/06\/marine-boot-camp-now-integrated-should-get-commander-says.html\">said in an interview<\/a> that those changes had gone smoothly, but if integration progressed beyond that, and happened earlier in training, male recruits might develop an unfavorable view of their female counterparts, who were more likely to grow up playing with \u201cBarbie dolls\u201d than engaging in contact sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two years later, the Corps graduated its first partially integrated training company at Parris Island, South Carolina, and Commandant Gen. David Berger told lawmakers that the trial \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2019\/10\/30\/parris-island-marines-to-start-training-with-second-gender-integrated-boot-camp-class\/\">went great.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2022\/10\/21\/marine-boot-camp-study-calls-for-mixed-gender-drill-instructor-teams\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"175\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2061266.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Marine boot camp study calls for mixed-gender drill instructor teams<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The model recommended would keep same-gender drill instructor teams with male and female platoons only for hygiene, sleeping and overnight duty.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2020, Berger <a href=\"https:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2020\/09\/24\/marines-weigh-closing-parris-island-and-san-diego-open-new-coed-boot-camp.html\">said a congressional mandate to integrate training at both Marine Corps boot camps<\/a> might drive the Corps to close the historic Parris Island, South Carolina, and open a new coed training depot better organized for the purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The following year, during a visit to the previously all-male Marine Recruit Depot San Diego, Recruit Training Command leader Col. Matt Palma said the infrastructure changes needed to accommodate the first integrated recruit battalion turned out to be largely cosmetic: frosted windows for the female squad bays and \u201chygiene in progress\u201d signs in the barracks to ensure privacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now the Marine Corps is complying with a congressional directive to fully integrate training by 2025 and 2028 at Parris Island, South Carolina, and San Diego respectively, and considering a trove of data and recommendations from an independent study the service paid $2 million for that advances a compelling case for doing so at the platoon level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the head of Marine Corps Training and Education Command says the Corps is pursuing a different path, amid fears that complete integration will cause the force to lose its competitive edge for making the best warriors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The language of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act merely states that training at the two boot camps \u201cmay not be segregated based on gender.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ambiguity of that directive has allowed the Corps to set its own parameters for integration, but also bred confusion among training staff, leaders and recruits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA sizable number of Marine Corps respondents lacked a clear sense of how the Marine Corps defined gender integration at recruit training and thus used their own interpretation,\u201d states the University of Pittsburgh-led study, which runs past 700 pages and was submitted to the service in summer 2022. \u201cA vague definition enables latitude in implementation that is precluded by formal definitions. If the Marine Corps\u2019s goal is progress, however, a formal, shared definition would set a benchmark for measuring results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Internally, the Marine Corps is embracing a model the study describes as \u201cintegrated company-plus,\u201d in which male and female platoons are grouped into companies \u2015 typically at a 5-to-1 ratio \u2015 while integrating a number of training events below the platoon level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service, officials said, will eventually have its female recruit population evenly divided between the two boot camps and has created focus groups to explore further ways to integrate training events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But leaders still remain protective of what Training and Education Command commander Lt. Gen. Kevin Iiams called the \u201calchemy\u201d of Marine Corps training: the special process they say is essential to building Marines and requires the genders to train separately in their core units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are protections that we have there; there is a willingness for recruits at that level to speak to leadership in manners that they would not have done otherwise,\u201d Iiams said in a September interview. &#8221; We\u2019re taking away those initial pieces of their identity and instilling what it is to be a Marine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iiams insisted that the Corps\u2019 outlier segregated approach to training resulted in the creation of elite warriors \u201cbetter than any of the other services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDo I feel that we create a superior product? I absolutely do,\u201d he said. \u201cAre there places where we can do better, where we can optimize and improve? I think we\u2019re open-minded enough to continue to do that as we go to the future. But I think we\u2019ve got the basics, fundamentally, right. We don\u2019t want to change standards, we don\u2019t want to change how tough we make them. We don\u2019t want to change that essence of what it is to be a Marine, and earning the title of Marine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marine veterans who spoke with University of Pittsburgh researchers, however, expressed concerns that the Marine Corps was falling short of a greater goal: to prepare recruits for life in the Marine Corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou train like you fight \u2014 that saying should be a reality,\u201d a male Marine veteran told study staff. \u201cIf we start segregated at any level, there is always going to be a perception that they are not good enough to be part of us from Day One.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keeping core aspects of training separated by gender created a cultural deficit that was difficult to overcome, interviewees said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t think you can just say, like, \u2018Oh well, we\u2019ll deal with the integration later,\u2019 because if you don\u2019t have that foundation of integration, it\u2019s really hard to tack it on afterwards,\u201d a female veteran told researchers. \u201cIt\u2019s like going back to trying to fix something with the foundation after you\u2019ve already started building the house.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The University of Pittsburgh study\u2019s authors acknowledged that, of the three levels of integration they presented to the Marine Corps, which also include the \u201cintegrated company-plus\u201d model the service is currently pursuing, and training under integrated drill instructor teams, the integrated platoon option represented the most work for the service. The integrated platoon model \u201cprovides the most direct and sustained opportunities for male and female recruits to work together, but \u2026 demands the most substantial change from current Marine Corps training processes,\u201d they found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because Marine drill instructors consider every waking hour to be training time for recruits, a significant amount of formative training and instructions takes place in the squad bay. The study suggested that drill instructors could be responsible for one set of recruits in the squad bay and another set in integrated platoons, ultimately resulting in recruits receiving training from a larger number of drill instructors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two recruit leadership structures, or a rethinking of leadership positions, might be necessary to account for the different recruit groups, they added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And while key training could still take place in the squad bay, procedures would have to be modified to ensure integrated platoons could train together. Also, because male recruits far outnumber female ones, not every recruit training company would have integrated platoons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Worth it? Marine recruits and training staff generally thought not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Less than 20% of recruits coming to the end of their training cycle said they wanted integration at the platoon level, according to the study, although female new Marines were more likely to support such a move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notably, though, interviewees from the other military services \u2015 all of which conduct coed training at a platoon-equivalent level \u2015 \u201coverwhelmingly\u201d defined gender-integrated training as taking place within platoons, and most saw it as necessary to fulfill the Corps\u2019 mandate.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2022\/10\/24\/what-new-injury-performance-data-tells-us-about-marine-boot-camp\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7449348.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">What new injury, performance data tells us about Marine boot camp<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A vast trove of biometric data provides unprecedented insights into the physical experience of recruits in the 13 weeks at boot camp.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cParticipants with alternate viewpoints and Service leaders and training cadre from the other Services felt gender separation in training unintentionally reinforces or gives meaning to the separation promulgating women being seen as \u2018less than,\u2019 which could create issues in future training environments and the fleet,\u201d researchers found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other parts of the study also describe some of the cultural problems the Marine Corps risks fostering with small training units that remain segregated by gender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As previously reported, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2022\/10\/11\/marine-drill-instructors-crude-sexual-marks-prompt-boot-camps-visit\/\">Iiams made an emergency visit to both boot camps<\/a> to reinforce standards after a preliminary version of the study revealed some drill instructors were making crass and sexist comments to \u201cbreak the ice\u201d with their all-male platoons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2022\/10\/11\/marine-drill-instructors-crude-sexual-marks-prompt-boot-camps-visit\/\">Within female platoons, the study found some concerns<\/a> that drill instructors\u2019 discussion of the sex assault risks women faced in the fleet were making recruits unproductively fearful and avoidant of the male Marines they\u2019d soon work alongside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The risk-conscious Marine Corps, deeply cognizant of its public image of a uniquely tough and hard-training force, is once again faced with a scenario in which the alleged perils are evident from the outset, and the benefits only likely to be seen in retrospect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in clinging to a model that keeps the genders separate in the closest training units, the Corps may find itself increasingly out of step with the American public it draws from and serves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs recruit training you \u2026 learn the intangible values \u2015 honor, courage, and commitment,\u201d a male Marine veteran told researchers. \u201cThose are being taught at the platoon level, that\u2019s where those lessons take place. That\u2019s where the drill instructors teach you how to embody being a Marine. If gender integration is having respect for every person, seeing every person as a Marine, we\u2019re missing the mark.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Corps isn&#8217;t following the recommended path, amid fears that total integration will cause it to lose its competitive edge for making the best warriors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":63694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-featured-layout","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":15,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[29,116,15,35,88],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3433],"class_list":["post-56303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-military"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"LOF5KF4KE5FD7HHX2257TBMV4I","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2022\/11\/04\/marines-still-oppose-integrated-boot-camp-platoons-after-2m-study\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"featured-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Marines still oppose integrated boot camp platoons after $2M study - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Corps isn&#039;t following the recommended path, amid fears that total integration will cause it to lose its competitive edge for making the best warriors.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Marines still oppose integrated boot camp platoons after $2M study\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Corps isn&#039;t following the recommended path, amid fears that total integration will cause it to lose its competitive edge for making the best warriors.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2022\/11\/04\/marines-still-oppose-integrated-boot-camp-platoons-after-2m-study\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Military Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-04T16:24:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T21:12:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hope Hodge Seck\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hope Hodge Seck\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t      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