- The Washington Times - Monday, October 12, 2020

South Carolina legislators have launched another salvo in their campaign to save the Marine Corps’ iconic Parris Island recruit training base.

U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman and Rep. Joe Wilson, both Republicans, last week introduced the “Parris Island Protection Act.” It would prohibit the use of federal funds to close the base and would prohibit “any planning or other activity related to such closure or realignment.”

“South Carolina has welcomed recruits from around the country for over a century and to close Parris Island would not only be detrimental to South Carolina but also to the Marine Corps,” Mr. Wilson said.

The bill was in response to a report that the Marine Corps is considering closing down both Parris Island and the recruit training base in San Diego in order to create a new base for gender-integrated training.

For their part, Marine Corps officials said they have made no decision about any future plans to address the congressionally-mandated directive.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, has said he intends to introduce a companion bill.

“We can change the basic training rules to have men and women train in the same platoon like other services. I believe that over time, this change will be good for the Marine Corps,” Mr. Graham said. “However, closing Parris Island is a horrible idea. It should not happen today or in the future.”

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.

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