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Female recruit with infantry mos10/23/2023 ![]() In that time, applicants learn the basics of their selected military branch and physically prepare for their upcoming training periods. Van Aken joined the Air Force’s Delayed Entry Program, a program that prepares applicants for recruit training prior to their graduation from high school. “It was a totally calm and relaxing experience, but at the same time, I got an adrenaline rush from seeing my shots hit the target.” “I was in my happy place where any parts of a bad day or worries were muted as I focused on the shot,” said Van Aken. Van Aken said she was in love from the very start with the handling of the rifle, the patience and attention needed, and the break of each shot. Her CAP started a marksmanship program where the participants took monthly trips to a local firing range to learn the fundamentals of shooting. It was there she discovered a passion for shooting and an opportunity to do more than expected. A year into school, she wanted to try something new, so Van Aken joined the Civil Air Patrol. She started playing ice hockey in high school to keep her active throughout the soccer off-season. She said there were no major hardships growing up, but she had a burgeoning desire to constantly do more. Six hours away in New Hampshire, Van Aken was excelling in soccer during the summer and surviving the harsh New England winters. With the team sports, you have to work together. If you get angry you can make stupid mistakes. With MMA it is all about staying calm and not getting angry. “I also did (mixed martial arts) and Jiu-Jitsu. “I played a lot of sports in my life, like basketball, soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey,” said Daume. Walking miles with load-bearing gear and completing obstacle courses are frequent activities in the Marine Corps, and Daume said she sees her experiences as preparation for what lies ahead. Mental strength helps recruits through the physical rigors of recruit training and life in the Marine Corps overall. Daume said she views those negative life factors as elements that will contribute to her future accomplishments in the Marines and School of Infantry. Bullying was a big thing.”Īs this adversity continued, she said she grew the mental toughness needed to avoid letting those actions get under her skin. They would say things about my mom and why she was in prison even if no one knew why. “It would be for being Russian or being adopted. “Other kids would bully me consistently from when I was four to my senior year of high school,” Daume said. She said her early life in America made her hopeful for the future, but she said the shine quickly faded as it became clear she wasn’t always as welcome as she’d have liked. “He said, ’Are you sure you want this?’ I said confidently, ’yes.’ He then congratulated me and told me I got (the infantry contract.) I was so excited I had to stop the car and call my best friend and tell her.”ĭaume said the experiences she’s had in life helped shape her desire to become a U.S. “I was driving when (my recruiter) called me,” Daume said. It’s what I’ve been working half a year for.” “When it became available, I jumped at it. ![]() “It’s what I want to do, so that’s the end of it, and everyone knew not to try to change my mind,” Van Aken said. They are among the first female recruits to be sent to recruit training with contracts to become infantry Marines. 17 of this year, when they both found themselves at airports heading for Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, to begin the grueling recruit training process. The two women had little in common until Oct. Air Force equivalent of the Young Marines. As a youth, she was a girl scout and eventually joined the Civil Air Patrol, the U.S. Van Aken was born in the sleepy New Hampshire town of Dover, where she found an early passion in soccer and being outdoors. The 4-year-old Daume twins were eventually adopted by an American family and grew up in Long Island, New York. She and her twin brother Nikolai lived in the prison for two years until their mother’s death, upon which they were transferred to an orphanage in Moscow for two additional years. For Maria Daume and Katelen Van Aken, recruits currently in the initial stages of Marine Corps recruit training, such a dichotomy has never been more true.ĭaume was born in a Russian prison where her mother was incarcerated. Recruit training forces people to work together to accomplish tasks they couldn’t on their own. Recruit backgrounds and experiences will vary, but the training is designed to ensure they come together as a single unit. The first of the Marine Corps’ three tenets is “we make Marines,” and in accomplishing that young men and women from across the varied fabric of American society come together to undergo 13 weeks of intense mental and physical training to become basically-trained Marines.
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