On Sept. 28, one of two female second lieutenants negotiated an obstacle during the combat endurance test, first event of the Marine Corps' 13-week Infantry Officers Course. One of the two officers failed to complete the endurance test that day and dropped out. The other was dropped Friday for unspecified medical reasons. More women are expected to volunteer for future infantry training.(Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)
The first two women to try to join the elite combat ranks of the U.S. Marines have dropped out of infantry training, the Marine Corps Times reports.
A
second lieutenant was dropped Friday because of unspecified medical
reasons, a Marine official told the paper, published by Gannett, USA
TODAY's parent. It was not clear whether she was hurt or became ill. She
had already conquered the punishing endurance test.
MORE: Marines test women on infantry course for first time
"I want to
try to open up a door, maybe, for women after me. I don't know how far
it will open, but I'm hoping to make a difference for women down the
road," she said in a statement. Neither she nor another second
lieutenant, the first women to volunteer, were identified.
The
other officer dropped out Sept. 28 after not completing the introductory
endurance test of the 13-week course at Quantico, Va. Nearly 30 men
also washed out on the first day. The class started with 109 students,
25% of whom will not finish.
In its efforts to integrate women
into combat roles, the Corps hopes to involve up to 100 women and take
at least a year to complete the experiment, the official said. "This was
just the first shot," the official said.
The next Infantry Officer Course begins in the winter. No new female volunteers have stepped forward so far.
Earlier this month, USA TODAY's Jim Michaels wrote about the women as they trained in the Virginia woods.
"The women are expected to do everything that the men do," said Col. Todd Desgrosseilliers. "We haven't changed anything."
USA Today