Sgt. Michael Nygaard, a drill instructor for Platoon 3044, India Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, roams the barracks moments before waking his recruits for their first official training day March 25, 2014, at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. Recruits spent the morning getting dressed, experiencing their first incentive training session, cleaning their barracks, and, finally, eating a nutritious breakfast. The formal 70-day training schedule begins about one week after recruits arrive. Nygaard, 29, is from Cape Coral, Fla. India Company is scheduled to graduate June 13, 2014. Parris Island has been the site of Marine Corps recruit training since Nov. 1, 1915. Today, approximately 20,000 recruits come to Parris Island annually for the chance to become United States Marines by enduring 13 weeks of rigorous, transformative training. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Caitlin Brink/Released)
