Marine Corps Taking 'Man' Out Of Job Titles

The U.S. Marine Corps is taking steps to modernize its job titles, six months after the Pentagon mandated that all combat roles be open to women.

The nation's oldest military branch is replacing the word "man" with "Marine" in 19 of its military occupational specialties, or MOS. The Marine Corps Times first reported the changes.

In all, 39 titles were reviewed.

"Names that were not changed, like rifleman, are steeped in Marine Corps history and ethos," an anonymous Marine official told the publication. "Things that were changed needed to be updated to align with other MOS names."

Here's what will be changing, according to the Times.

These titles are straight-up "man"-for-"Marine" swaps:

• Basic infantry Marine
• Riverine assault craft Marine
• Light-armor vehicle Marine
• Reconnaissance Marine (to include three other recon-related jobs that include the word "man")
• Infantry assault Marine
• Basic field artillery Marine
• Field artillery fire control Marine
• Field artillery sensor support Marine
• Fire support Marine
• Basic engineer, construction and equipment Marine
• Basic tank and assault amphibious vehicle Marine
• Armor Marine
• Amphibious assault vehicle Marine
• Amphibious combat vehicle Marine

"Field artillery operations man" will change to "field artillery operations chief." "Anti-tank missileman" will use the word "gunner" instead of "Marine."

Other jobs such as "manpower officer" or "vertical takeoff unmanned aerial vehicle specialist" will stay the same since "man" in these instances does not describe the person doing the job.

Read the full story from the Marine Corps Times here.

It's an effort by the Marine Corps to be more inclusive after December's historic announcement to open up some 220,000 combat positions to women. The Pentagon is also expected to lift its ban on transgender people serving soon.

The name changes, apparently, aren't sitting well with some people on the inside.

The publication reported that "The move has proved unpopular with many Marines and sailors, with several branding it political correctness run amok."

Image via Lance Cpl. Vincent White, public domain