women

Commandant wishes female Marine vet a happy 100th birthday

By Hope Hodge Seck on April 25, 2014 History and heritage, Marines, women, World War II

Mary Cochrane enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1944 to “free a man to fight” in World War II by serving as a truck driver. On April 18 she celebrated her 100th birthday–made sweeter with a cake brought to her home by a detachment of reserve Marines, and a letter of congratulation from Marine commandant Gen. Jim Amos. The Marines, an inspector-instructor detachment from Peru, Indiana, spent time discussing Marine Corps memories with Cochrane and reviewing photos from her time as a young Marine. “I had never seen a Marine, by the way,” Cochrane said of arriving in San…

Five reasons to consider the argument this female Marine officer makes about infantry training

By Hope Hodge Seck on April 2, 2014 Training, women

The Marine Corps has been sending female volunteers to its Infantry Officer Training at Quantico, Va. since late 2012. But while female Marines hump gear, navigate land, and climb ropes alongside their male counterparts, one officer says Marine women still aren’t getting a fair shot. Second lieutenant Sage Santangelo writes in a Washington Post op-ed that part of the reason that all 14 women who have attempted the course have washed out is that male lieutenants can opt to retake the course if they fail to succeed the first time, while females must move on to training in their non-infantry military…

One simple graphic shows the backbone of the Marine Corps’ new infantrywoman experiment

By Martin Matishak on March 17, 2014 Camp Lejeune, Infantry, women

What happens when you take a bunch of women, and a bunch of men, give them military training, weapons, and ammunition, and then make them live together for a year? Forget polite, things quickly get real. As part of a new initiative to gauge women in combat roles, the Marine Corps intends to field 460 Marines of mixed gender for a several month training stint, all while under the microscope of doctors and scientists from various disciplines. It’s not just a matter of anatomy and biology this time, Marine officials have told Marine Corps Times that they plan to chart…

HISTORIC PHOTO: The first female Marines ever to complete infantry training

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By James Sanborn on November 19, 2013 Battle Rattle, Infantry, women

These are the first four women in Marine Corps history to complete infantry training. This image, which appeared Nov. 9 on the social networking site Instagram, was first published earlier Tuesday by Business Insider. It was taken by Pfc. Harlee “Rambo” Bradford, who is pictured in the center. The other three women in the photo remain unidentified. Marine officials have kept confidential the identifies of all female students attending infantry training because they are considered test subjects participating in the service’s ongoing study to determine what additional ground combat jobs should open to women. Marine Corps Times caught up with…

2nd Tanks Battalion has its first female field-grade officer

By Hope Hodge Seck on September 13, 2013 Battle Rattle, Marines, women

Navy Lt. Shannon Stout made history for 2nd Tank Battalion this month when she pinned on the rank of lieutenant commander, making her the unit’s first field grade officer, according to Marine Corps reports. A battalion surgeon, Stout joined the unit in 2012, according to the report. The promotion is significant because the Marine Corps only recently opened a limited selection of billets in ground combat elements, including tank units, to female Marines. Beginning in May 2012, women have been able to serve in 371 new billets within combat units. The change opened more than 14,000 new positions to women.…

Behind the Cover: On the ground as female Marines take the Infantry Officer Course

By Dan Lamothe on July 8, 2013 Behind the Cover, Infantry, women

The latest iteration of the Marine Corps’ Infantry Officer Course began last week, putting dozens of prospective infantry officers through the beginning of 13 weeks of hell. Those who survive will become the service’s latest crop of infantry officers, a demanding profession they were told begins with a simple question: “How do I win?” As mentioned here last week, I was on the scene at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., for Marine Corps Times as the course’s initial Combat Endurance Test took place. It’s an assignment that had us pushing through the forests of Quantico for hours, observing lieutenants as…

Two more female Marines fall short at latest Infantry Officer Course

By Dan Lamothe on July 3, 2013 Infantry, The CMC, women

QUANTICO, Va. — From the moment before dawn that we stepped out of our vehicles in the woods here, it was plainly obvious it would be a long, demanding day in the wilderness. Tuesday marked the beginning of the latest iteration of the Infantry Officer Course, the Marine Corps’ demanding 13-week course that determines who leads infantry Marines in combat. IOC has been in the news frequently over the last year as a result of the Women in Service Restriction Review, a Pentagon-directed study that is assessing which additional roles female service members can hold in combat units. Currently, female…

Bonnie Amos, wife of the Marine Corps commandant, launches Facebook page

By Dan Lamothe on May 20, 2013 Commandant, The CMC, women

Bonnie Amos, the wife of Commandant Gen. Jim Amos, has taken her work to Facebook. The First Lady of the Marine Corps’ page was launched online recently, and pointed out by Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Mike Barrett on Twitter today. Mrs. Amos page is online at www.facebook.com/BonnieAmosFLOTMC. In an introductory post, Mrs. Amos said she is “catching up with the times” and launched the page to reach as many Marine Corps families as possible. “My hope is that this allows for quick and effective communication with all of you Marine Corps Families out there to keep you posted…

Commandant, Marine Corps Times reach coverage agreement on Infantry Officer Course

By Dan Lamothe on April 16, 2013 Afghanistan, Embedded journalism, Infantry, Marines, The CMC, women

Commandant Gen. Jim Amos made headlines last week when he challenged me in a letter to the editor published in Marine Corps Times to attend the service’s difficult Infantry Officer Course as a participant. The invitation was issued after he took umbrage with a recent story I wrote that had a headline saying two female volunteers for the course “flunked” IOC last month as part of ongoing research into which roles service members can fill in combat. I met with the commandant Monday morning at the Pentagon to discuss the issue. By mutual agreement, we decided that it would be…

Behind the Cover: Marines prepare for women in combat units

By Dan Lamothe on January 28, 2013 Infantry, Leadership, Manpower, The Sgt. Major of the Marine Corps, Uniforms, Washington, women

Pentagon leaders announced last week that they were rescinding the 1994 Combat Exclusion Policy that kept women out of ground combat units, raising a host of questions about what will change for rank-and-file service members. This week, Marine Corps Times addresses many of those concerns. Our cover story is splashed across four pages inside the magazine, and includes interviews with Lt. Gen. Robert Milstead, deputy commandant for manpower and reserve affairs, Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Mike Barrett, and other senior leaders. By now, it seems safe to assume that nearly all of our readers are aware of the…

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