Meet the female Marines of Corps' integration test

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — They hail from boot camp and all over the fleet. They represent a range of military occupational specialties and experience levels and, for a variety of reasons, they volunteered to be part of the Marine Corps' first-of-its-kind combat integration experiment. for a spectrum of reasons. As they began their proficiency training in combat specialties with the Corps' Ground Combat Integrated Task Force, several female task force volunteers opened up about criticism, training challenges and their own reasons for being part of the project.

Sgt. Nyree Wilson, 28, a warehouse clerk training as a rifleman with the task force's provisional rifle platoon: I volunteered because I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and do something different. I normally sit at a computer all day and I wanted to be more hands-on.

Cpl. Raquel Mathieu, 22, no MOS given, now training as a rifleman with the provisional rifle platoon: I volunteered not only to broaden my horizons but also to help out my leadership skills and to show America that women can be in infantry if they put their mind to it. It was important to me because a lot of people in the military and out, they're basing everything on opinions, and we're able to give good information and show that we can actually, statistically do this.

Lance Cpl. Elleri Pargin, 27, a combat engineer with the engineer platoon:Coming from the schoolhouse, we had just done a lot of demolition and stuff and I was really excited about getting to do more of that. I knew that this would be the most training I would get right out of the schoolhouse, so I decided that would be really good for me.

Lance Cpl. Callahan Brown, 19, Infantry Training Battalion graduate training as a rifleman with the task force's second rifle platoon: I want to change history. I just feel passionately that I know females can do this. I know it's possible for this to work and I know physically i can do it, I know mentally I can do it, I can persevere through any of it, whatever gets in my way.

Pfc. Anne Creasy, 20, ITB graduate training as a rifleman with the second rifle platoon: It's always been a dream of mine to be in the infantry. This is the only thing that I've ever genuinely wanted to do in the Marine Corps, and when I was presented with this opportunity I felt that it was a sign I had to take it.

Q: Since you arrived at Camp Lejeune, what has been the greatest challenge?

Sgt. Wilson: The most challenging thing for me is the physical part. I thought I was in good shape until we actually began moving on the company hikes and stuff. It's very tiring, very stressful on my body but it's making me stronger. It's hard but it's nothing I can't handle. I got it.

Q: What have been the challenges of working in an integrated combat arms unit so far?

Cpl. Mathieu: Right now, I think there's a lot of acceptance. A lot of the males have worked with females before, so they knew their boundaries, what to say, how to treat females, how to work with us. I haven't seen any negativity toward females in this platoon.

Q: How do you respond to those in and out of the Marine Corps who believe women don't belong in combat?

Lance Cpl. Brown: Middle fingers up … just kidding. It's a constant thing, just screaming from outside, inside, just everywhere. If I let all the stuff I hear on a daily basis get to me, I'd go nuts. But you've just really got to know what criticism to take and work off of it, and know what's just ignorance. You just have to know when actually you can have a conversation with someone and change their opinion, but most of the time you can't. It takes a lot to hold back and not say something sometimes, but I'm here doing it. You guys are just talking on the internet.

Q: How do you handle the public attention this project is receiving and the scrutiny that comes with it?

Sgt. Wilson: I like all eyes on us. You're just sitting there training, and it's like, lets give them a show.

Q: Why do you want to get the chance to serve in the combat arms?

Lance Cpl. Brown: It's to serve, to give back to your country. Combat makes you bond as human beings. When [infantrymen] all come back [from deployment], they might really despise the person next to them, but you know that they would do absolutely anything for them. There's an unspoken bond that you can only achieve by having experienced those horrors. And we won't know it until we get the opportunity.

Q: Many Female Marines have struggled to adapt to pullups and the challenge of building upper body strength. How important are those capabilities?

Pfc. Creasy: Personally, if I'm in a combat mindset, it's not going to matter if I'm out in the field. No one's going to say to me, 'get on that bar and do 20 pullups.' They're going to say, 'oh s---, this guy who's 170 [pounds] went down with his full combat load, get him out.' I may not be able to fireman-carry someone who weighs more than me, but I'm sure as hell going to find a way to get them out. I figure it's more important to have that mindset of sustaining life rather than, I can do 20 pullups and run a 19-minute three miles.

Q: Apart from physical challenges, do you think women have the mental and emotional toughness for the job?

Pfc. Creasy: I never find myself thinking, 'oh, I'm a female, I can't do this.' I say to myself, 'I want to be here I want to train, I want to know what they know, I want to do what they do. And that's what it's about.' If I have a hard day, then so what. Just keep training and it will get better tomorrow.