For the first time, three women have passed the Marine Corps' grueling physical test to become infantry officers, potentially paving the way for women to lead Marines into combat.
Two dozen female Marines have tried to pass the test since the course opened its doors to women in 2012.
It is a test of physical and mental endurance, and it is shrouded in secrecy. How these officers respond to chaos, surprise and pain, instructors here say, is the best way to figure out how capable they might be of leading their fellow Marines into battle.
Debates within the Marine Corps and on Capitol Hill have been intensifying about whether to officially allow women to serve on the front lines of combat. Unofficially, they have been on the front lines for years, advocates of women in combat point out.
Under an order from the secretary of Defense, services must open all combat jobs to women by January 2016 or come back with a marked reason — backed by research — as to why they should not.
The test Thursday, known as the Combat Endurance Test, is the first hurdle Marines must pass in order to become infantry officers — the quintessential frontline combat job.
Before this week, one woman had passed the CET but had to drop out of the remainder of infantry officer training, known as the Infantry Officers Course, with a stress fracture.
The three women who passed the course are part of a research study for the decision that will come in 2016.
They will go on to try to complete the IOC. If that happens, they will be the first women to do so.
“It's great that three women completed the CET today,” said Maj. Gen. James Lukeman, who just took over as head of the Marine Corps' Training and Education Command and walked the course alongside Marines laden with packs. “It reinforced my belief that we're doing the right thing.”
Now, he added, “I'm anxious to see how they do in the rest of the course.” Major General Lukeman noted the injury suffered by the first woman to complete the CET. “Hopefully, that won't happen to these three.”
