Intel

On Camp Pendleton, 1st Female Recruits Undergo Rifle Qualification

April 9, 2021Hannah Ray Lambert
rifle qualification

Marine Corps recruits with Platoon 3241 have one final day of training April 8, 2021, before rifle qualification at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Photo by Hannah Ray Lambert/Coffee or Die Magazine.

The crack of rifle rounds pierced the morning calm Thursday, echoing across Edson Range on Camp Pendleton, California. Marine Corps recruits kept their heads down, eyes trained on a line of targets several hundred yards away. Expressions were inscrutable when recruits performed well, but disappointment clouded faces when bad rounds got away. Tortured thoughts searched for the source: Trigger squeeze? Breath control? Eye relief? What went wrong?


“You can only control the next round,” Capt. Martin Harris told one recruit.


“Yes sir,” she responded, still looking dejected.


female Marines rifle qualification
Marine Corps recruits line up for rifle training Thursday, April 8, 2021, at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Photo by Hannah Ray Lambert/Coffee or Die Magazine.

The recruits are preparing for rifle qualification, one of the most important requirements they will have to satisfy during training. There’s added pressure for the women of Platoon 3241, Lima Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion: making history as members of the first gender-integrated company to train at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, where they started their journey two months ago.


“There’s a lot of pressure, not just the pressure of qualifying for Table 1,” recruit Teia Chutaro told Coffee or Die Magazine. 


A Marine Corps recruit prepares to shoot during rifle qualification training Thursday, April 8, 2021, at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Photo by Hannah Ray Lambert/Coffee or Die Magazine.

Chutaro enlisted in part to be a role model for her younger siblings and other women.


“It’s a real honor to be chosen to be here and just have the opportunity to make history as well as inspire young women for future generations in the Marine Corps,” she said.


Previously, all women who enlisted in the Marines trained exclusively at MCRD Parris Island, South Carolina, at the all-female 4th Recruit Training Battalion. Last year, though, when Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act, it included a prohibition against gender-segregated recruit training at both of the Corps’ recruit depots.


female Marines rifle qualification
Marine Corps recruits listen to an instructor in between rounds of rifle training Thursday, April 8, 2021, at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Photo by Hannah Ray Lambert/Coffee or Die Magazine.

The 54 recruits in Platoon 3241 started shooting with their rifles Monday, giving them four days of live-fire exercise before qualification. On Thursday, they ran through the same course of fire they would have to repeat the following day to prove themselves and advance to the next stage of training.


The Marines’ basic rifle qualification course of fire requires shooting from the standing, kneeling, sitting, and prone positions at distances of 200, 300, and 500 yards. During slow-fire iterations, the recruits take their time between each pull of the trigger, and during rapid-fire rounds, the range explodes with sound and casings clattered all over the firing line.


An instructor looks at a recruit’s data book during rifle qualification training Thursday, April 8, 2021, at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Photo by Hannah Ray Lambert/Coffee or Die Magazine.

It was a breezy day, but with a punishing bright sun. By early afternoon, sweat plastered tendrils of hair against some recruits’ faces.


“Holy shit, Ramos! You can shoot,” a coach shouted at a recruit, spreading his arms wide. “Please, for the love of God, do that tomorrow.”


female Marines rifle qualification
A Marine Corps recruit shoots from the 200-yard line during rifle qualification training Thursday, April 8, 2021, at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Photo by Hannah Ray Lambert/Coffee or Die Magazine.

Senior drill instructor Amber Staroscik believes her recruits are ready for the big day.


“I’m fully confident that I’ll have 54 out of 54 recruits qualify,” Staroscik said Thursday afternoon.


As the sun rises over Edson Range on Friday, the fate of each recruit is in her own hands. To earn the title Marine, they’ll have to meet the same high qualification standards that have defined Marine Corps rifle marksmanship training for decades.


Read Next: Baptism in Chaos: First Women Experience ‘Black Friday’ at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego



Hannah Ray Lambert
Hannah Ray Lambert

Hannah Ray Lambert is a former staff writer for Coffee or Die who previously covered everything from murder trials to high school trap shooting teams. She spent several months getting tear gassed during the 2020-2021 civil unrest in Portland, Oregon. When she’s not working, Hannah enjoys hiking, reading, and talking about authors and books on her podcast Between Lewis and Lovecraft.

More from Coffee or Die Magazine
eric smith marine corps commandant nominee
Highly Decorated Marine Officer Nominated To Be Next Commandant

President Joe Biden has nominated a highly decorated Marine officer who has been involved in the transformation of the force to be the next Marine Corps commandant.

USS Arizona
Profile of a Ship: USS Arizona

When the USS Arizona sank, it took 1,177 crew members with it. Today it remains beneath the water as a memorial to all those who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor.

b1 bombers bosnia
US Bombers Fly Over Bosnia in Sign of Support Amid Continued Secessionist Threats

A pair of U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers flew low over Sarajevo and several other Bosnian cities...

SR-71 Blackbird
SR-71 Blackbird: The Spy Plane That Could Outrun Missiles

Lockheed Martin’s SR-71 Blackbird was a government secret for years. Now retired, a newer version plans to take its place.

medal of honor recipient remains returned
Missing 73 Years, Medal of Honor Recipient's Remains Return To Georgia

Soldiers of the 9th Infantry Regiment made a desperate retreat as North Korean troops closed in arou...

dear jack
Dear Jack: My Battalion Is Out of Control

In this installment of “Dear Jack,” Marine veteran and amateur life coach Jack Mandaville advises a lieutenant colonel on how to restore order in the lower ranks.

Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor: A Long and Epic History

For more than 150 years, the Medal of Honor has been used to recognize acts of extraordinary battlefield courage performed in service to the United States.

  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Careers
Contact Us
  • Request a Correction
  • Write for Us
  • General Inquiries
© 2023 Coffee or Die Magazine. All Rights Reserved