As the Marine Corps push away from the longstanding slogan “The Few,The Proud,” their latest commercial features a female Marine.
Their newest commercial, “Battle Up” features a female Marine as she progresses through life to become a Marine. The decision to feature a female Marine comes at a time when the Marine Corps is looking to appeal to women.
In the commercial, a young girl steps in to help a young girl being bullied. It then shows a young woman playing rugby followed by making her way through a training course and then becoming a convoy commander leading a group of Marines in a fight. Finally, the commercial shows as a veteran helping the homeless.
“No one knows where it comes from; why some have it and some don’t: It’s the fighting spirit, and it needs to be fed,” a narrator can be heard saying in the commercial. “It consumes fear, self-doubt and weakness. It stands ready to protect those in danger and to fight whatever shape the battle takes.”
“The water was 27 degrees and coated with a layer of thick ice,” said Marine Capt. Erin Demchko, describing her experience as the convoy commander in the commercial. “Giving the film production staff what they wanted, while maintaining my bearing as a Marine officer and trying not to look cold, was a challenge.”
“Battle Up” makes it clear that that Marines are looking for women that want to join the fight. This is the first time a woman has played such a prominent role in a Marine Corps commercial.
Capt. Erin Demchko is a logistics officer from Hackensack, New Jersey, who is serving as deputy camp commander at Camp Courtney in Okinawa, Japan. She has also served on a Female Engagement Team in Afghanistan and earned the Combat Action Ribbon as well as the Drill Instructor Ribbon, according to a Defense Department news story.
“The fighting spirit is something that’s inside all of us,” Capt Demchko said. “Everybody’s got a goal, if it’s personal or if it’s something bigger, that you are fighting toward.”
“I fight every day to sharpen my mind, strengthen my body, and to take care of the Marines to my right and left,” Demchko said in the news release. “My fighting spirit is the continuous drive that I have to accomplish my mission.”
The commercial comes at a time when the Marine Corps has been under scrutiny due to the recent Marines United scandal where nude photos of female Marines were shared over social media.
The Marines are currently seeking to make women make up 10% of the Marine Corps by 2019.
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