Although set up as a friendly training and networking event, the Marines and FBI National Academy students who gathered at the field house of the FBI Training Academy—which is situated on the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia—on May 22, 2019, were put through their paces.

Divided into groups, they rotated through six grueling stations of high-intensity exercise, including pull-ups, kettlebell carries, weighted sled pulls, and a high-stakes memory game that had participants holding a six-minute plank as their teammates tried to match game pieces—push-ups were doled out as a penalty for failing to find a matching pair.

The remarkable display of strength, endurance, teamwork, and grit was made even more remarkable by the Marines who participated. As members of the Wounded Warrior Regiment, each had suffered an injury or illness in the line of duty and was working through a process of recovery.

“When a Marine has injuries—combat related or non-combat related—that require medical treatment beyond six months, they will be assigned to the Wounded Warrior Regiment,” said Marc Savine, director of the Marine Corps’ Warrior Athlete Reconditioning Program. “About 90 percent of those Marines will transition out of the service due to the nature of their injuries.”