PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. - Wearing a camouflage rain jacket and braided pigtails, Gabriela Sullen stands at a wall-mounted phone and makes a call.
Her voice is all but drowned out by the man to her right as she reads the lines taped into the inside of the phone box.
"Louder, louder, louder," the man belts out. She keeps reading, but orders erupting from the camo-clad man do not relent.
"... You didn't yell louder. Scream 'aye, sir.' Louder," he commands before a small crowd gathered around. "Hang up the phone ..."
The crowd breaks into applause as the drill instructor concludes his demonstration.
Sullen, of Detroit, is one of about 60 educators from several states including West Virginia to travel to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, South Carolina, earlier this month. A Gazette-Mail reporter and photographer were also invited along on the Marine-sponsored trip.
Sullen's phone call was a simulated rite that thousands of recruits make each year from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. On their first call home from the base, recruits may only say a few things before saying thanks and bye for now: They have arrived safely, their family members shouldn't send any food or bulky items, and their family will hear from them by letter in a few days.
The purpose of the trip was to inform teachers and school counselors about what recruit training is like, so that they may better inform students who may be interested in joining, said Capt. Eric Albright, executive officer for Recruiting Station Charleston.
"Recruiters can't be in every school every day. They're lucky to get to that school every month," Albright said. "So, this is an opportunity to have someone as a go-to source of knowledge in their high school ..."
Last year, more than half of those who joined the Marines from Recruiting Station Charleston did so while in high school, Albright said.
Fewer than 10 percent of people who join the Marines are "walk-ins" - those people who walk in to a recruiting station to sign up. More often, recruiters must find people who meet the requirements and are interested in joining.
"Here's the bottom line: Out of 10 individuals that we meet on a random day, seven out of 10, right out of the gate, are disqualified to serve in the Marine Corps," Albright said.
Prospective recruits have to meet certain moral, medical and mental standards to be accepted.
"You may make it through the physical screening, which is pretty rigorous; you might not be able to pass our fitness test," Albright said. "... So you've got to find that 30 percent."
Educators, including teachers, principals and guidance counselors, learned to march and rappel, they fired rifles and attempted to tackle an obstacle course that Marine recruits take on. They spoke with Marine recruits from their areas and witnessed a graduation ceremony, among other things.
The workshop was one of about a dozen held throughout the year, said Sgt. Caitlin Brink, a marketing and public affairs representative for Recruiting Station Charleston.
"We basically bring educators to Parris Island to put them through a mini boot camp and show them how we make Marines," Brink said.
Often, in places where there isn't a Marine base, residents have never seen a Marine in uniform, she said. "So this is an opportunity for them to go back and take what they've learned to their schools and communities."
Albright said his recruiters are honest with students, but they have to contend with 50 or 60 years worth of stigma about Marine recruiters.
"We don't lie. If my recruiters lie, I fire them. That's the truth," Albright said. "[So if we've] got an educator in the school they probably trust and have known for years, they can talk to them about their experiences at Parris Island, answer any questions they might have and help that student make a better-informed decision."
Recruiting Station Charleston (which is actually headquartered in Ona) covers 48,000 square miles and reaches five states: West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Brink said while West Virginia is a patriotic state, finding qualified applicants can be difficult.
"[West Virginians] love the troops, they support us in everything that we do, but when it comes time to try to find qualified applicants, young men and women who are actually qualified to join the Marine Corps and sit down and see if that's something they'd actually like to do with their lives - there's not really as much interest as you would think," she said.
Brink said it's a common misconception that a person has to choose between the military and college. A person can attend college before they join the Marines. If they attend while serving, the federal government has programs to pay for up to 100 percent of education costs.
Jacob Hayhurst, a counselor at Nitro High School, was among those who participated in the trip.
"I enjoyed it tremendously," Hayhurst said. "For me, I'm leaving feeling a renewed sense of patriotism and also with a much better understanding of the Marines, the recruit training, this military system as a whole. I didn't really have an understanding of it at all."
Hayhurst said the trip gave him information on the Marines that he can pass along to students who are interested.
"I know that if I'm talking to a student, a senior in particular, about a plan after graduation, this is definitely an option that I now have information to provide," Hayhurst said.
Ashley Butler, an agriculture teacher at Lincoln County High School, said the Marines would be an option for some of her students without post-high school plans.
"I have a lot of students that could use this path because they're not necessarily going to go to college; they don't necessarily have a job lined up," Butler said. "So, it was good for me to kind of learn about this so I can go back and say, 'hey this is an option,' so maybe they can talk to a recruiter, so maybe they have some type of option after high school."
Reach Lori Kersey at lori.kersey@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1240 or follow @LoriKerseyWV on Twitter.