The Marine Corps released an updated version of a motivational video that includes clips of female troops after the original video left out some 14,000 members of the service by only featuring men.
The two-minute video, called "We must win," drew criticism from social media critics and veterans’ advocates who said the spot failed to adequately represent the Marine Corps.
"There were a few comments in there that were, ‘Hey, where are the female Marines?’" Lt. Col. Eric Dent told Military.com on Wednesday. "We said, ‘That’s a great point.’"
The original video depicts a montage of Marines in combat units carrying out operations, including air missions and combat dives, while featuring a voiceover of Commandant Gen. Robert Neller praising the drive of the current force.
"We have an incredibly capable Marine Corps. Can we get better? Yes. Must we get better? Yes. Will we get better? Yes," Neller says in the video. "We’re going to continue and adapt like Marines have done throughout our history. What we do is not a job. Not everybody can do this."
Advocacy group Service Women’s Action Network took to Twitter on Monday to applaud the video, but noted, "you seem to have misplaced your servicewomen!"
The Marine Corps published a new version of the video to its Facebook page on Tuesday. The updated version includes a female Marine firing a rifle on a range and a female aviator in a flight suit giving a briefing before a classroom.
A preface posted with the video thanked critics for pointing out "the importance of representing all of our Marines," adding, "Point taken. Will we get better? Yes."
The video was created to be shown at the Marine Corps League’s annual convention in Oklahoma last month. Dent said it was not intended to be used in recruitment efforts or as a stand-alone promotional spot, according to Military.com.
Still, Dent said, "If we’re going to do videos like that, we’ve got to think, ‘Is this representative of our organization? And if not, why?’ Even our [motivational] videos should reflect that."
Original version of the video:
New version of the video:
Both videos are from Military.com courtesy of the Marine Corps.