Female Marines will sleep alongside their male counterparts in makeshift shelters when sent to warzones 

  • Female marines will stay in makeshift shelters with male colleagues in the field
  • When on base they stay in female only living quarters with private bathrooms
  • A Marine Corps official said it will result in better unit cohesion on the field
  • A battalion accepted its first three females in January who could serve in combat

By SIMON HOLMES FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

Female infantry Marines will be sleeping in makeshift shelters next to their male counterparts when out in the field and no special accommodation will be offered to them, according to a Marine Corps official.

In their living quarters female Marines have private rooms and female bathrooms have been added to buildings where Marines work.

However in any forthcoming field tests and subsequent combat situations they will be expected to share living spaces with male squad members to keep unit cohesion and replicate battlefield conditions.

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U.S. Marine Corps recruits practice sighting in on the range at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island last year 

U.S. Marine Corps recruits practice sighting in on the range at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island last year 

US and South Korean marines participate in the endurance exercise in temperature below minus 20 degrees celsius under a scenario to defend the country from any possible attacks from North Korea

US and South Korean marines participate in the endurance exercise in temperature below minus 20 degrees celsius under a scenario to defend the country from any possible attacks from North Korea

Maj. Charles Anklam III, executive officer for 1st Battalion, 8th Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, the first gender-integrated Marine infantry battalion, confirmed that no special privileges will be given to women marines on Thursday. 

'We're not changing our tactical posture or changing how we operate to accommodate the inclusion of female Marines,' Anklam said.

The battalion accepted its first three females in early January, marking the first time the Marine Corps has put three enlisted women in a ground combat unit once open only to men.

They will serve as a rifleman, machine gunner and mortar Marine.

Anklam said female Marines deployed to conflict zones have shared tents with their male counterparts at times. But this marks the first time female Marines will be doing so during their regular training with their combat unit.

Their entry into the unit was part of efforts to comply with the Pentagon's directive in December 2015 to open all military jobs to women. 

The decision also formally recognized the thousands of female servicewomen who fought in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, including those who were killed or wounded.

US Marines from 3rd Marine Expeditionary force deployed from Okinawa, Japan, participate in the winter military training exercise with South Korean soldiers on January 24, 2017 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.

US Marines from 3rd Marine Expeditionary force deployed from Okinawa, Japan, participate in the winter military training exercise with South Korean soldiers on January 24, 2017 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.

Opponents of the Obama administration's policy change voiced concern about the two genders sharing tents.

'You're going to have sex, you're going to have love, you're going to have relationships, and it's going to overly complicate the command structure,' Marine veteran, Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, told the Marine Corps Times.

Another opponent, Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness, said the three women will serve separately within units of men. 

She added that small teams traditionally sleep together in tents on deployment but having mixed genders will affect the atmosphere. 

'Policy makers should be held accountable for creating conditions that will encourage indiscipline rather than discipline,' she said in a statement.

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