First women enlist to join Navy special operations teams

Two women have become the first females to enlist as candidates to join the Navy’s special operations teams, CNN reported Saturday.

One of the women is gunning to become a Navy SEAL, while the other is a candidate for the Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman (SWCC) program.

Enlistees aren’t guaranteed a place in the Navy’s special operations teams and must undergo rigorous training and testing before they can count themselves among their ranks.

{mosads}

About 1000 candidates train to join the SEALs each year, according to CNN. Usually, about 200 to 250 make it through. 

SEAL candidates must undergo basic conditioning, combat diving and land warfare training, according to the SEALs website. 

Only men were previously allowed to serve in combat roles in the U.S. military. But the positions were opened up to women in January 2016.

Before now, no females had applied to join special operations forces, CNN reported. Eight classes of SEALs and seven SWCC classes have graduated since March 2016. All of them have been made up entirely of men.