The United States Marine Corps hosted a delegation of Brazilian Marines at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) Parris Island, South Carolina, to discuss and observe how the Marine Corps is integrating male and female recruits on their path to becoming Marines.
The visit, June 5-9, 2023, was designed to share information and best practices on the area of training female recruits and to help incorporate lessons learned from the U.S. Marines to make the upcoming integration efforts in Brazil as successful as possible.
The Brazilian Marine Corps leadership is launching an initiative to integrate women into the Brazilian Marine Corps by 2024. Beginning next year, their organization will start to admit enlisted women into their entry-level training program. The Brazilian Naval Academy will also graduate the first two female marine officers next year as well.
“This historic move by our Brazilian partners to integrate women into their Marine Corps will expand access to a pool of talent that was previously unavailable,” said Captain Benjamin Fischer, Brazil desk officer with U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South (MARFORSOUTH). “The U.S. military’s all-volunteer force has greatly benefited from the service of women in our Armed Forces during the last 75 years.”
Female service members are not new to Brazil and have served in their Armed Forces since the 1980s. Brazil was the first army in South America to accept women. In 2012, the Brazilian Armed Forces made history when Brazilian Navy Rear Admiral Dalva Maria Carvalho Mendes became the first woman to achieve the rank of flag officer in all the Armed Forces.
“The U.S. has faced similar challenges in recent years with women being allowed to join combat arms specialties in the Marine Corps in 2016, and the recent transition from Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego from an all-male training base to an integrated one in 2021,” said U.S. Marine Corps Major Matthew Philpott, training officer at MCRD Parris Island. “We have several lessons learned and a lot of experience with training women here in Parris Island to share with our Brazilian partners and friends to help make the process as smooth as possible.”
Although the incorporation of training women at MCRD San Diego began in 2021, the Marine Corps has been training women at MCRD Parris Island since 1943 and has an extensive history of transforming women into Marines.
The delegation consisted of five enlisted and officers from the Brazilian Marine Corps, to include Brazilian Marine Corps Sergeant Evellyn Sanchez Choque, a female sergeant who is currently one of the only women in the Brazilian Marine Corps and is on specialized assignment to the Brazilian Marine Corps Band. Being one of the only women in the organization at this time, she is heavily involved in the establishment and success of these integration efforts.
“It is truly an honor to be here and be involved in this process to ensure the success of our integration efforts while maintaining our standards and culture,” said Sgt. Choque. “Seeing the level of professionalism and integration of the U.S. Marines is motivating and gives us a great target of what success looks like.”
During the visit, the delegation spent significant time observing the facilities and all facets of how women train and operate on MCRD Parris Island. They spent dedicated time with leadership and staff, observing marksmanship training, physical fitness sessions, classroom instruction, and general daily routine activities.
“The opportunity to see firsthand how the Marines integrate women into the training cycle was extremely beneficial for us to observe and take back to our own operations,” said Brazilian Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Vanderli Nogueira Cordeiro Junior, future commander of the Almirante Milcíades Portela Alves Instruction Center (Brazilian recruit training). “Just as critical was the opportunity to talk with the staff and drill instructors, both male and female, to understand the challenges, opportunities, and to implement lessons learned from our partners.”
The trip to Parris Island is possible due to a long developed and close partnership between the two Marine Corps. At any given time, there are Brazilian Marines embedded with Marine Corps units in the United States and vice versa as part of a comprehensive exchange program between the two countries. Brazilian Marines attend service schools such as Expeditionary Warfare School, Command and Staff College, and for the last few years, the highly esteemed War College. U.S. Marines participate in this exchange as well attending Brazilian service schools to share information, learn alongside each other, and advance the force.
“We work together often and have built up trust and an enduring partnership,” said Colonel Joseph A. Katz, MARFORSOUTH operations officer. “This just goes to show that we can lean on each other to help build awareness, share information, and support each other as we have, and will continue to, to face similar organizational challenges.”
Since the easing of travel restrictions following the COVID-19 pandemic, together the two Marine Corps have participated in multiple exercises, subject matter expert exchanges, and key leader engagements. Brazil has hosted multinational exercises and events and has been a major player in the security of the region and South Atlantic Ocean.
“Not only do our forces share a tactical mindset based on a warfighting ethos,” said Capt. Fischer. “They share a similar set of values founded on democracy, human rights, and service to our countries.”