--- title: Coeds at Military Training, New Hampshire, 1942 description: Photos chronicling the first class of women to undergo training similar to that of men in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), 1942. canonical: https://time.com/3878591/coeds-at-military-training-new-hampshire-1942/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-01-06T18:49:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:47.925Z og:title: Coeds at Military Training, New Hampshire, 1942 og:description: Photos chronicling the first class of women to undergo training similar to that of men in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), 1942. og:url: https://time.com/3878591/coeds-at-military-training-new-hampshire-1942/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38b31733d67e1646/69884b03e20a87ca29a8ad2f/140106-rotc-women-new-hampshire-1942-9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: ROTC-like Training for Women, 1942 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Coeds at Military Training, New Hampshire, 1942 twitter:description: Photos chronicling the first class of women to undergo training similar to that of men in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), 1942. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38b31733d67e1646/69884b03e20a87ca29a8ad2f/140106-rotc-women-new-hampshire-1942-9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # LIFE in Wartime: Coeds Training in the Snow, New Hampshire, 1942 > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Jan 6, 2014 6:49 PM UTC  Coeds at the University of New Hampshire perform military drills in freezing weather, 1942. Coeds at the University of New Hampshire perform military drills in freezing weather, 1942. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Jan 6, 2014 6:49 PM UTC In light of recent reports that the Marine Corps is [postponing a minimum physical fitness test for women](http://www.slate.com/blogs/the%5Fslatest/2014/01/02/the%5Fmarines%5Fput%5Foff%5Fa%5Fnew%5Ffitness%5Frequirement%5Ffor%5Ffemale%5Frecruits.html) after more than half of female recruits failed to meet USMC standards, LIFE.com decided to look back at how women in the armed forces were covered in the early days of LIFE magazine. To our amazement, we found a series of photos by the great Alfred Eisenstaedt chronicling the very first class of women — at the University of New Hampshire, as it turns out — to undergo training similar to that of men in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). As LIFE magazine told its readers in a January 1943 article titled, “New Hampshire Coeds Toughen Up for War”: --- > “” --- --- > “” ---  Coeds at the University of New Hampshire perform military drills in freezing weather, 1942. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Coeds at the University of New Hampshire perform military drills in freezing weather, 1942. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Coeds at the University of New Hampshire perform military drills in freezing weather, 1942. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Coeds at the University of New Hampshire perform military drills in freezing weather, 1942. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Coeds at the University of New Hampshire perform military drills in freezing weather, 1942. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Coeds at the University of New Hampshire perform military drills in freezing weather, 1942. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Coeds at the University of New Hampshire perform military drills in freezing weather, 1942. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  University of New Hampshire student Shirley Sylvester (standing) straightens shoulders of sophmore Estelle Dutton in an exercise which aids posture and strengthens pectoral muscles, 1942. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Coeds at the University of New Hampshire during gymnasium workouts, 1942. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Coeds at the University of New Hampshire perform military drills in freezing weather, 1942. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Coeds at the University of New Hampshire ice skate as part of intensive, wartime physical education program, 1942. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Coeds at the University of New Hampshire fencing in gymnasium, 1942. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Coeds at the University of New Hampshire executing front-fall exercise on gymnasium floor, 1942. 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