Ihrke recalled, “[The recruiter] explained how tough the program is and said, ‘A girl like you probably wouldn’t make it through boot camp in the Marine Corps.’” But those words of discouragement ended up having the opposite effect on Ihrke. Instead, the teenager decided to enlist. She said, “I took that as a challenge and asked, ‘Where do I sign up?’”
Ihrke later admitted to Inside Edition that she’d had second thoughts after the ink had dried. She said, “On the way to boot camp on the plane, I’m like, ‘What have I done?’” In part, this was because she knew she was entering an environment that wasn’t necessarily female-friendly.
Ihrke explained, “I’ve always been athletic and stuff. But, like, literally, they say it’s a man’s world, but the Marine Corps is a man’s man’s world.” And, sadly, that environment made her feel judged as soon as she arrived for boot camp. Ihrke said, “You walk in with a target on your back. People are looking at you, like, ‘Can she keep up?’”
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