Marines Will Roll Out Gender-Neutral Job Titles on Oct. 1

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The Marine Corps announced it will roll out gender-neutral job titles on Oct. 1. Tyler L. Main/Marine Corps
The Marine Corps announced it will roll out gender-neutral job titles on Oct. 1. Tyler L. Main/Marine Corps

New Marines will be awarded military occupational specialties with new gender-neutral names beginning Oct. 1, the Marine Corps announced today.

In an administrative message, Marine officials listed 19 MOSs with "man" in the name that will be revised to make them gender-neutral as previously closed fields, including ground combat jobs, open to women. Military.com first reported in June on the list of titles getting changed.

In most cases, these changes simply swap the word "man" for "Marine." MOS 0351, Infantry Assaultman, for example, will become Infantry Assault Marine. The Corps opted to retain Rifleman, MOS 0311, as a job title out of respect for Marine history and tradition.

According to the message, Marine Corps administrative systems will also be updated to reflect the new job titles by October.

"Commanding officers and all personnel associated with the systems that rely on MOSs shall familiarize themselves with the revisions and take actions as directed in the manual," officials said.

Job courses and some schools will also be renamed to reflect the new specialties. In all, 29 schools and courses will get new names, according to the message.

The Corps launched a job title review in response to a mandate from Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who also ordered the Navy to review its ratings to make them less gender-specific.

The Navy announced in June that it was expanding this review to look for opportunities to improve career path and course progression and to better translate a sailor's duties to the civilian world when he or she transitioned out of the military. The results of that review are expected this fall.

Meanwhile, the Marine Corps has already had its first female recruit sign an infantry contract. A 19-year-old applicant for an 0300 infantry MOS will ship to boot camp later this fall, Military.com reported in June.

What's Changing

Here's the list of new school and course names:

  • N2373C3 Naval Aircrewman Candidate School will become Naval Air Crewmember Candidate School
  • N23G3U2 Aviation Ordnanceman 'A' School will become Aviation Ordnance 'A' School
  • A03H5S3 Maneuver SLC (Armor Crewman) will become Maneuver SLC (Armor Crewmember)
  • A03TBM2 Marine Armor Crewman will become Marine Armor Crewmember
  • A03YH42 Assault Breacher Vehicle Crewman will become Assault Breacher Vehicle Marine
  • A14GBD6 Light Armored Vehicle Repairman will become Light Armored Vehicle Repair Marine
  • A200811 Field Artillery Fire Controlman will become Field Artillery Fire Control Marine
  • A200821 Cannon Crewman will become Cannon Crewmember
  • A20DPZ1 Marine Artillery Sensor Supportman will become Marine Artillery Sensor Support Marine
  • M030354 and M100342 Infantry Assaultman will become Infantry Assault Marine
  • M03HDG4 and M10HDG2 Basic Infantryman will become Basic Infantry Marine
  • M03M3X4, M10M3X2 and M21M3X1 Advanced Infantryman will become Advanced Infantry Marine
  • M03MUR4 and M10MUR2 Advanced Anti-Tank Missileman will become Advanced Anti-Tank Missile Marine
  • M03MUS4 and M10MUS2 Advanced Infantry Assaultman will become Advanced Infantry Assault Marine
  • M03T2B4 and M10T2B2 Infantry Anti-Tank Missileman will become Infantry Anti-Tank Missile Marine
  • M1018Y3 Assault Amphibian Repairman, Basic will become Assault Amphibian Repair Marine, Basic
  • M10AHX3 Assault Amphibian Repairman, Intermediate will become Assault Amphibian Repair Marine, Intermediate
  • M10AHY3 Assault Amphibian Crewman will become Assault Amphibian Marine
  • M10H2F2 Light Armored Reconnaissance Crewman, will become Light Armored Reconnaissance Marine
  • N23WSL2 Aircrew Survival Equipmentman Common Core Class A1 will become Aircrew Survival Equipment Common Core Class A1
  • N3013U1 Fire Support Man Aviation will become Fire Support Marine Aviation
  • N336441 Maintenance Administration A1 will become Maintenance Administration Class A1

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.

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