Male And Female Platoons Will Train Together During Marine Corps Boot Camp

The United States Marine Corps is making history by integrating its male and female platoons during boot camp. When boot camp begins on January 5th, there will be five male platoons and one female platoon training together at Parris Island in South Carolina. 

The female platoon will still be led by female drill instructors but the female recruits will live in the same barracks as their male counterparts. 

The move is not permanent and was made because of the small size of the recruiting class. Instead of activating the 4th Recruit Training Battalion for the 50 female recruits, officials decided to integrate the platoons.

"The decision was made by Marine Corps leadership in support of training efficiency and is a first in the history of Marine Corps recruit training," the Marine Corps said in a statement.

Officials have not ruled out continuing to integrate the platoons in the future and are using the current recruiting class as a test case. They told ABC News that they "will certainly look at how the company performs in this model as we continually evaluate how we make Marines."

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