U.S. Marine Corps To Make 19 Job Titles Gender-Neutral

The U.S. Marine Corps will change more than a dozen occupational titles to make them gender-neutral as the military aims to integrate more women into combat roles.

The decision, to be made official during an announcement on Friday, will remove the word "man" from 19 job titles. Roles such as "basic infantryman" and "antitank missileman" will become "basic infantry Marine" and "antitank missile gunner." 

Some titles will retain their gendered names , according to the Marine Corps Times, which first reported the news. Terms such as "rifleman" and "mortarman" will remain, as they "are steeped in Marine Corps history and ethos," an official told the outlet.

The move follows an effort by senior military officials to integrate more women into combat roles. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the move in December, and gave the military three years to make necessary changes.

"They’ll be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars and lead infantry soldiers into combat," Carter said. "They’ll be able to serve as Army Rangers and Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Marine Corps infantry, Air Force parajumpers and everything else that was previously open only to men.”

The Senate voted this month to require women to register for the military draft when they turn 18, but the measure faces an uncertain future in the House.

The Washington Post notes several social media pages have become havens for current and former Marines to lament the service branch being overtaken by political correctness .

"Before all that political correctness, we, Marines, didn't care much about that shit," one Facebook user wrote . "Male or female, Black or white, gay or straight, Christian, Jew or [Muslim], we all called ourselves with common title and accomplished common mission while getting into same shitty trouble."

“Not really seeing why this matters," another said. "A marine is a marine. If this triggers you well ... not really sure what to say honestly."

Representatives or other branches of the military told Mother Jones there were no immediate plans for similar changes .