First woman enlists to become a Navy SEAL

Credit: Richard Schoenberg

Credit: Richard Schoenberg

A woman will be training with other potential candidates as she tries to become te first female Navy SEAL, CNN reported.

The midshipman and another woman have enlisted and hope to join the Navy's special operations teams. The Navy declined to identify the candidates, citing security considerations, NPR reported.

The latter candidate was in boot camp for the Navy's Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman program, also known as SWCC. Naval Special Warfare Center Deputy Commander Capt. Christian Dunbar told members of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service about the two candidates in June.

Women had been prohibited from serving in combat roles until January 2016, CNN reported.

Eight SEAL and seven SWCC classes have graduated since March 2016. All of those candidates were males, CNN reported.

There are approximately 1,000 SEAL candidates who begin training each year,  Lt. Cmdr. Mark Walton, a spokesman for Naval Special Warfare Command, told CNN. He said that usually only between 200 to 250 candidates complete their training.

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