Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 12, 1995 TAG: 9502130034
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: CHARLENE CASON LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium
Their assignment: security for VIPs and others, including the president.
The Marine Corps Security Force Training Company, a one-of-a-kind school in rural Chesapeake, has started putting women Marines through its rigorous 5 1/2-week training program. The first six women students impressed their male classmates.
``At first, I think our attitudes went between skepticism and wanting to protect them,'' said Lance Cpl. Garrison Mayberry, a 19-year-old class leader. ``But that changed the first time I saw little Morris knock the wind out of a 6-foot-2 guy in line training.''
Line training is hand-to-hand combat, and ``little Morris'' is 5-foot-4 Kathryn Morris. She and classmate Patricia Jackson, 21, made a point of requesting line-training partners larger than they are, earning Morris the nickname ``Scrappy.''
They were the first women to graduate, finishing last week.
``It's a matter of getting control of the situation,'' Morris, 18, said of the training. ``But I'm feisty. If I got thrown, I'd get right back up and do it again.''
The other four women assigned to the school are Tammy L. White, 18, who is to graduate this week; Rebecca D. Pauley, 19, and Melissa J. Wright, 18, who are to graduate March 2; and Kimberly M. Nelson, 19, who is out temporarily on medical leave.
Eventually, the six will serve alongside their male counterparts on various assignments, including guarding the president during his visits to the Camp David retreat in Maryland.
Their training demonstrates a gradual opening of new roles to women Marines. The six - among 324 students in five rotating classes at the school - were chosen from 26 volunteers who had to pass rigid background checks and psychological tests.
``Congress has not yet approved armed combat for women,'' said Gunnery Sgt. Bobby Davis, the students' supervisor. ``But about a year ago, all noncombat roles were opened to them - including security.''
Davis said the women ``tend to try harder and concentrate more. They have something to prove.''
Memo: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.