Behind the cover: Female Marines head to infantry school

This week’s Marine Corps Times is a must read. In it we give you the lowdown on the Corps’ plan to test women for combat specialties.

Under Defense Department guidance, women are banned from serving in specialties whose primary function is to close with and destroy the enemy. But that could change. In a historic first, the Marine Corps is now planning to send women to the Infantry Officers School as part of a comprehensive research program that looks at whether opening more fields to women is a possibility. Enlisted women could get a shot, too, at one of the Infantry Training Battalions. Also part of the possible plan are gender-neutral physical fitness standards that would apply to men and women and a Corps-wide survey so you can sound off on the matter.

Could women soon be marching into battle as infantry-women? For all the details, and more stories that matter to you, pick up this week’s edition of Marine Corps Times, on newsstands now. Or subscribe here.