00:00These recruits just made it through Marine Corps boot camp. After 13 weeks of
00:12basic training in Southern California, they're receiving their Eagle Globe and
00:16anchor pendants, symbolizing their transformation from recruits to Marines.
00:23While we were filming these new Marines, one stood out, Ralph Lance M. Dahilig,
00:32a 24 year old man from the Philippines who immigrated to the U.S. during the
00:36COVID-19 pandemic. At 5 foot 4, Dahilig is far from what you might think of
00:43when you think United States Marine. For context, here's a picture of Dahilig
00:48and me, and I'm only about 6'1". My name is Ralph Lance M. Dahilig, but what do they
00:53call you here? Warbag, sir. What do they call you? Warbag. Warbag. Warbag! Warbag! Use your brain, Warbag! Go Warbag! Warbag! Warbag! Get up, Warbag!
01:05Why do you call him that? We have a bag that's used for PT and for class, so we
01:10call that recruit, like the shortest recruit, Warbag, because they're the one
01:13responsible for that bag. In April of 2024, we followed Warbag and his fellow
01:19recruits from Alpha Company at Camp Pendleton, just north of San Diego, during
01:24the crucible, the 54-hour culminating event of boot camp. This is your boot camp reach, man! Because if you can't reach, Marines aren't gonna die!
01:32Despite his size, the diminutive Dahilig survived boot camp, and today he is a
01:41United States Marine. Good to see you, man. Good to see you, too. How's it going? It's been good. I caught up with
01:49Dahilig about seven months after he graduated from boot camp. He's now
01:56stationed in Japan. You got a lot more hair since the last time I saw you. Oh, yeah.
02:00I really miss my hair. You got good flow. Thank you.
02:06Growing up, did you always feel like you were on the smaller side? Yes, but to be
02:11honest, I was, like, insecure about, like, height and stuff, but as time passed by, I
02:16learned to accept, like, I cannot change that. Being small doesn't mean, like, you
02:21can't, you can't be a Marine. The Marine Corps' minimum height requirement for men
02:26is four feet ten inches. With your recruiter, once you actually started that
02:31process, did your height ever come into the conversation at all? To be honest, it
02:36was the first question I asked them, like, is my height good enough for you
02:40guys? And they told me, like, I was fine as long as you can do a pull-up.
02:46You need to find a rhythm. It's like everything we do is for a reason. Yes, ma'am. Imagine that. Let's go.
02:53Come on, come on. Warbag, execute.
02:55Aye, sir.
02:57Aye, sir. Warbag!
02:59No, go over here. Go down.
03:01Warbag, what?
03:03Warbag! What's this?
03:05Second log. Aye, sir. Do it again.
03:07Aye, sir.
03:09Use your momentum as you swing down from this one. Aye, sir.
03:15What are you doing? At least get to the third log. Aye, sir.
03:19Low profile. Put this arm underneath.
03:23Oh, my. Aye, sir.
03:25Warbag! Aye, sir.
03:27Go over there with freaking delay. Aye, sir.
03:29Everything in the crucible,
03:31whatever event you may not be able to finish, there is a consequence. So if
03:35they're not able to execute the weaver, they go out to the side and we do something that's called
03:39fireman's carry. It's where you take a buddy and
03:43you put him over your shoulders and then you carry them from one point to another.
03:47Go, Warbag! Go, Warbag!
03:49What do your parents think about your choice to join the Marine Corps?
03:53First, they were afraid of me joining the military.
03:57I told them that I really wanted to do this and
04:01I really want to prove it to them that I'm able to do it, sir.
04:05What were some of the reasons that they didn't want you to go? What were they worried about?
04:09They were trying to convince me that it was too hard.
04:13Then I did some research on the Internet and I was like,
04:17Marine Corps, it says the hardest boot camp
04:21and the longest one. And I was like, I need to try it first before
04:25I give up. But I didn't give up. I just
04:29pushed myself. Aye, sir.
04:31When Dahiligan enlisted, he was classified as a lawful permanent resident,
04:35a status that allows people to join the military
04:39and puts them on an expedited path to becoming U.S. citizens.
04:43Under U.S. military policy, once eligible recruits
04:47complete their training, they gain citizenship.
04:51This was the case for about 1.5 percent of the nearly 11,000
04:55Marines who graduated from the San Diego boot camp in 2024.
04:59Since 2020, more U.S. military members from the Philippines
05:03have attained citizenship by serving than from any other
05:07country.
05:09I was born in the Philippines in like 1999.
05:13I lived there and studied there until like elementary.
05:17Then I migrated to Italy with my dad and my mom.
05:21I went back to the Philippines and go to high school. After going through high school,
05:25I attended like Bachelors of Science in Information Systems.
05:29I studied like programming, web development.
05:33My mom was a nurse. They needed nurses for COVID. She was able to convince me
05:37to come to the U.S. I was able to find a decent job.
05:41At first, I was struggling since I really don't have
05:45connections here. If you wanted to join a high-end company
05:49like Amazon, Apple, Google, you need to go through
05:53a process, a lot of internships. I was able to get two internships
05:57but it's not paid. I need to have a stable
06:01income. That's when I decided to find
06:05a military job, like Marine Corps.
06:35Maybe you should use your belt, put it around the freaking thing
06:39that way you can hold it.
06:43Try it, see what happens.
06:47Sometimes we just give them, like throw them a bone,
06:51try to help them out a little bit, think outside the box. Try to get them to think like a
06:55Marine. If you have someone who is short like him, like you still need to
06:59accomplish the mission no matter what.
07:03When you pass by, this recruit sees that he's improving and he's gaining
07:07more strength and he can do the stuff that other
07:11recruits can't do. Back in boot camp, we were told to
07:15present ourselves in third person, so we weren't able to
07:19talk with I. After becoming a Marine,
07:23we were allowed to use the word I.
07:27Let's go!
07:31Oh!
07:35It's the pugil sticks where recruits fight with each other.
07:39Are you looking forward to this? Yes, sir.
07:43Let's go!
07:47Oh!
07:51There's no beef with each other. I mean, there's some
07:55bickering a lot of times. It's really nothing personal, sir.
07:59I did get my
08:03ass beaten though. I was like on the floor
08:07most of the times.
08:11I can remember it really well.
08:15So Dale, he's a good recruit.
08:19Mind your business. You know, I see a little bit of myself
08:23in him sometimes. Why do you say that? Because he's very enthusiastic.
08:27When I was a young recruit, I was very enthusiastic. I was never really
08:31down about it. I wanted this, and it seems like
08:35he wants this, and that's what's important.
08:39All of you, on your gear, ready, move.
08:43Run!
08:47This was the final day of the
08:51crucible. The recruits had to overcome one more
08:55obstacle, climbing a steep hill known as the Reaper.
08:59Run!
09:03Run!
09:07Run!
09:11Get up, Dale!
09:25I
09:29think for every challenge, every sacrifice
09:33that we made during boot camp, it's just like collected
09:37in one spot. Thinking about our families,
09:41our sacrifices, the things we did at that point,
09:45it's just like emotionally draining.
09:49If I die in combat zone,
09:53box me up and send me home.
09:57There was just one thing left for Warbagg and his fellow
10:01recruits before they became Marines,
10:05receiving their Eagle, Globe, and Anchor pendants.
10:09Pretty much every single Marine
10:13there has tears streaming down their face.
10:17What is it about that moment? What did you feel in that moment?
10:21It was emotional for us. It was a really happy moment.
10:25Congratulations.
10:29We became like a family, in a sense.
10:33We've been together for three months, and I was so proud
10:37of that moment.
10:41We are proud to claim the title
10:45of United States Marines.
10:49I am a sergeant!
10:53Hoorah!
11:05What was that like to be back with your family?
11:09It was a very proud moment in my life. I was showing off, specifically to my sister,
11:13since I want to show her, look at me, I can do that too.
11:17Ralph! Ralph!
11:21Dahilig is now stationed in Okinawa, Japan,
11:25where he works as a utility systems technician.
11:29I'm having fun here. I have two roommates right now.
11:33We've been in boot camp. Ralph, come here.
11:37You and Ralph are roommates?
11:41Yes, sir. How is Ralph as a roommate?
11:45It is a pleasure to have him as a roommate. I couldn't ask for a better roommate.
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