Parris Island Drill Instructor Earns Saves a Recruit's Life

Credit: Lance Cpl. Joseph Jacob | Date Taken: 07/26/2017
U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Quaylain D. Brown currently serves as a drill instructor with India Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. On July 26, 2017, Brown received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his part in the saving the life of a recruit. While consuming food on July 24, 2017, a recruit began choking on his food, Brown saw the recruit struggling to breath and performed the Heimlich Maneuver to clear the blockage in his throat, allowing the recruit to recover. Brown joined the Marine Corps in 2011. “I wanted to become a drill instructor because I always wanted to be involved directly and influence the future of the Marines Corps,” said Brown, a 29-year-old native of Abbeville, La. “What better way to do that than to become a drill instructor.” About 600 Marine Corps drill instructors shape the approximately 19,000 recruits who come to Parris Island annually into basic United States Marines. Parris Island is home to entry-level enlisted training for approximately 49 percent of male recruits and 100 percent of female recruits in the Marine Corps. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Joseph Jacob)