Will Congress force gender integration at Marine Corps boot camp?
By: Leo Shane III and Shawn Snow  
Marines with the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion's India Company — the first combined company of male and female recruits — march ahead of graduation ceremonies on March 29, 2019. (Cpl. Vivien Alstad/Marine Corps)
A House panel would require Marine Corps officials to integrate women into recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina, within five years and at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego within eight years under draft legislation advanced Wednesday.
Advocates said the plan, which passed the House Armed Services Committee along party lines, is needed because of the slow pace of Marine Corps officials in bringing women recruits in step with their male colleagues. The service is the only branch that has not fully combined training for male and female recruits.
“Fully integrating women is not only the right thing to do, it makes our military stronger,†said Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., and head of the committee’s personnel panel, in introducing the plan.
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2019/06/12/will-congress-force-gender-integration-at-marine-corps-boot-camp/
