In a historic first for the Marine Corps, 60 female recruits stepped off buses and onto the iconic yellow footprints alongside hundreds of male recruits in front of the receiving barracks at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego Feb. 9, 2021.

When Congress passed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, it included in the legislation a prohibition against gender-segregated recruit training at both of the Corps’ recruit depots. Until this year, the Marines sent all males west of the Mississippi River to San Diego, and all males east of the river to Parris Island. Congress has given the service until 2025 to fully integrate training at Parris Island, and until 2028 to do the same at MCRD San Diego.