LORETTA REYNOLDS

There are things you maybe could get by a male drill instructor that a female instructor absolutely is never going to let you get away with. Women are harder on women.

I don't think that there's any Marine out there that says she can't do the job because she's a female.

We've been at war for 10 years with this generation of Marines. We've seen women do a whole lot of things between the war in Iraq and the current war in Afghanistan. The fact that I'm sitting here making sure that we continue to put out the best young Marines is just a matter of it being 2011.

I wanted to be able to say I was a Marine.

Anytime you're going to take your Marines into harm's way, they are looking for leadership that is calm, assertive, sure of themselves. And quite honestly, I don't think that some of these young Marines care if it's a male or a female. They just want to be properly led.

I don't think that there's any Marine out there that says she can't do the job because she's a female.

We've been at war for 10 years with this generation of Marines. We've seen women do a whole lot of things between the war in Iraq and the current war in Afghanistan. The fact that I'm sitting here making sure that we continue to put out the best young Marines is just a matter of it being 2011.

I wanted to be able to say I was a Marine.

There are things you maybe could get by a male drill instructor that a female instructor absolutely is never going to let you get away with. Women are harder on women.

Anytime you're going to take your Marines into harm's way, they are looking for leadership that is calm, assertive, sure of themselves. And quite honestly, I don't think that some of these young Marines care if it's a male or a female. They just want to be properly led.