The military’s attempt to integrate women into combat roles continues to have trouble getting off the ground, as two more women have washed out of the Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course, according to Dan Lamothe at the Marine Corps Times.
Neither of the two women could pass the Combat Endurance Test at the start of the Marine Corps' grueling Infantry Officers Course.
Of the 10 women who have thrown their hats in the ring at IOC so far, just one has passed the Combat Endurance Test, and she dropped out of training with a stress fracture in her foot a week later.
Of the 77 Marine lieutenants who attempted the course, 18 failed the Combat Endurance Test.
Earlier this year, the Pentagon ordered the service branches to evaluate the standards in their combat units as part of the effort to lift the combat exclusion on women in the military.
In January, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos said“There's no intention on my part of changing anything within the IOC curriculum.”
Amos plans to run a total of 100 female Marines through the course, leaving 90 school seats up for grabs. Consequently, if a female Marine passes IOC, she won't get the designation — since the program is still considered under a pilot, preliminary status.
And so a major hurdle in the future of women in Marine Corps combat operations remains uncleared, for now. As Army Ranger Battalions and Navy SEAL units institute plans to integrate women by 2015 and 2016, respectively, it remains to be seen when women in the Marine Corps will be able to join infantry units.