Recruits of Mike Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, spar during the Crucible at Edson Range, Weapons and Field Training Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Dec. 2. Recruits were instructed to refrain from delivering headshots to prevent injuring their opponent. The Crucible is a 54-hour field training exercise that presents continuous physical and mental challenges. Today, all males recruited from west of the Mississippi are trained at MCRD San Diego. The depot is responsible for training more than 16,000 recruits annually. Mike Company is scheduled to graduate Dec. 11.

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Keywords: mcrd, mcrdsandiego, mcrdsd, recruits, sandiego, semperfidelis, usmc, wemakemarines