"The expansion has been in the works for months, as Army commanders tracked how many female enlisted soldiers and officers chose the newly opened infantry and armor jobs. The numbers so far have revealed an unexpected trend: more entry-level female recruits are choosing the infantry, while female officers coming out of ROTC, West Point and the Army's Officer Candidate School are choosing armor units."
"I want to be one of the females to prove to everybody else that just because you're a female, doesn't mean you can't do the same things as a male," she said, describing her brother — an infantry soldier — as motivation. "I also wanted to one-up him." Kirsten is among more than 80 women who have gone to recruit training at Fort Benning, Georgia, since a ban on them serving in combat jobs was lifted. Twenty-two have graduated. More than 30 were still in training late last month, working toward graduation. The recruits' last names are being withheld by The Associated Press because some women have faced bullying on social media.