SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- The Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) in San Diego could be closing as part of an effort to integrate women into the Marines.
MCRD has been in San Diego for about 100 years, but it currently does not have facilities specifically for female Marines.
According to a Military.com report, Marine Corps officials are looking at other options in order to meet the integration mandate from Congress.
One proposal would create a single boot camp that would include the necessary facilities, rather than the current process of dividing recruits between MCRD in San Diego and the boot camp in Parris Island, South Carolina.
In response to a possible closure, the San Diego Military Advisory Council said losing the area boot camp would cost the city.
SDMAC Executive Director Mark Balmert said, “So 400 recruits a week come through our location here, about 16,000-17,000 a year. Our studies have shown more than 60,000 of their family members make the trip to San Diego to be a part of their recruit graduation.”
Marine officials have already told the Pentagon it cannot add women to boot camps without building new facilities.
