Marines seek more female recruits with new TV ad

A new television ad is urging women to join the Marines Corps, a military branch that has been criticized for not being welcoming toward women.

The ad shows a female Marine moving through dark waters with an M-16 rifle, going through a submerged drainage pipe and shouting orders over the sounds of combat, according to The Associated Press.

The Marines reportedly want at least at least 10 percent of the organization to be women by 2019, AP noted.

{mosads}“I am extremely humbled to be a part of such a big production. Professional actors can keep their jobs, though. I’d rather be a Marine,” said Marine Capt. Erin Demchko, a woman featured in the ad, told the AP.

“The water was 27 degrees and coated with a layer of thick ice. Giving the film production staff what they wanted, while maintaining my bearing as a Marine officer and trying not to look cold, was a challenge,” she added.

The Marines have faced harsh criticism in recent months following a nude-photo-sharing scandal.

Some Marines and Marine veterans allegedly shared thousands of nude pictures of their female coworkers on a secret Facebook group called “Marines United.”