The United States Marine Corps, in an effort to shake up their recruiting efforts and combat an ongoing scandal, did something publicly for the first time: released a video that was all about a female Marine — and female Marines in general.

The ad spot, titled “Battle Up”, goes through the real life journey of a young girl to school athlete to service member and on.

The star? It’s Captain Erin Demchko, a war veteran (she was deployed to Afghanistan) who is currently still serving as a deputy commander at Camp Courtney in Japan.

The commercial was put together by an agency in Georgia, JWT Atlanta.

“When the Marine Corps asked how we should make an ad to appeal to women, we knew that the way to do this wasn’t to make a female ad, but to make a Marine ad that shows the various battles someone who joins the Marines would fight. It just so happened to feature a female,” Vann Graves, chief creative officer for JWT told Fast Company.

“We also needed to show how her fighting spirit could be manifested before, during and after her time in the Marine Corps. So we used scenarios that tackled real issues such as bullying and homelessness. In the end, our litmus test was would this commercial work just as well for a male as it does for a female? The answer is most definitely.”

To view the video, click here.