Woman expected to become Marines' first ever infantry officer

For the first time in American military history, the Marines are reportedly poised to have a female infantry officer.

According to the Washington Post, an unnamed woman is expected to ascend to the leadership rank on Monday after having passed a required training course.

The unprecedented development follows the American government opening military combat jobs to women during the Obama administration.

“They’ll be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars and lead infantry soldiers into combat”, then- Secretary of Defence Ash Carter said while announcing the change in late 2015. “They’ll be able to serve as Army Rangers and Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Marine Corps infantry, Air Force para-jumpers, and everything else that was previously open only to men.“

Multiple women have since tried and failed to pass the infantry officer training course, according to the Post.

While Donald Trump’s campaign-trail vow to reject “political correctness” in military personnel decisions fueled concerns he would reinstate a ban on women serving combat roles, he has so far not made any policy changes.

He has, however, reversed an Obama-era change allowing transgender people to serve openly in the military.

Transgender people who were already serving before Mr Trump announced the shift will be allowed to continue doing so while Secretary of Defense James Mattis analyzes the consequences of reverting to the previous prohibition.