Since the Pentagon lifted its ban on women serving in combat last year, the military has been gradually adjusting to the new roles of female soldiers. While the military has witnessed many milestones recently, including the first three female soldiers to pass the Marine Corps combat training course, one challenge that remains is physical fitness.
Marine officials are still unsure whether female soldiers will be able to complete the pullup portion of the Physical Fitness Test, a new service-wide standard of fitness, according to Military Times. Currently, female Marines are not required to perform pullups when taking the test, but have the option to do either pullups or the traditional flexed-arm hang.
Officials have decided to delay any changes to the PFT to June 30, and any modifications made to the test won't be enacted until January 2015. A Marine spokesperson told the news source that female soldiers can continue to choose between pullups or the flexed-arm hang until then.
The delay "allows more time for studies to be done to determine exactly when the Marine Corps will make a decision on when and whether or not pull-ups will be instituted in the female PFT," Marine spokesperson Capt. Maureen Krebs said, as quoted by the news source.
Nearly 14,000 women serve on active-duty status in the Marine Corps, and comprise approximately 6.8 percent of the branch, according to data compiled by the Department of Defense.