A few Marine recruiters searched for the nation’s future warriors at the Target Center Dec. 22 while the Minnesota Timberwolves took on the Utah Jazz.
More than 50 men and women took the pull-up or flexed-arm hang challenge to potentially one day fill the ranks of the Corps.
“It was really motivating to be able to go out and represent the Marine Corps,” said Pfc. Brittany Dexter, a 19-year-old from Blaine, Minn., who completed boot camp earlier this year. “I talked to one girl who told me she had never seen a female Marine before.”
To master “The Challenge,” participants must perform 20 pull-ups or hang on the bar for 70 seconds.
“We’re looking people who can bring something to the Corps,” said Sgt. Dae Kim, a 25-year-old from Stockton, Calif., and recruiter out of the Woodbury, Minn., office. “Anyone can serve their country, but not everyone has what it takes to be a Marine.”
Although for Marines with Recruiting Station Twin Cities, it's not just about getting people on the bar and finding prospective applicants.
“Our primary mission is to find people who can live by a code of honor, courage and commitment,” said RS Twin Cities Executive Officer Capt. Douglas Woodcock. “Our secondary job is to act as an ambassador to the community and provide the next generation with heroes they can look up to and emulate”
For more information on the Corps, visit Marines.com or contact your local recruiting office. Additional photos of the event can be found on the RS Twin Cities fan page at www.facebook.com/rstwincities.
“I didn’t know what honor, courage and commitment really meant until I put on this uniform,” said Woodcock, a 34-year-old from Columbia, Mo. “Whether I’m out filling up the tank with gas or just grabbing up some milk from the grocery store, people know I’m a Marine because of how we carry ourselves. Those who can’t live by that code need not apply.”