A Black woman has just been nominated to serve as a brigadier general in the Marine Corps, Secretary of Defense James Mattis announced Tuesday.
Marine Corps Col. Lorna M. Mahlock is now on track to become the first African-American female to serve in the role, according to ABC News.
The news comes three years after the Pentagon announced that all combat jobs within the military are available to women. Mahlock is currently the deputy director of operations, plans, policies and operations directorate at the Marine Corps.
A brigadier general is a one-star general officer that ranks above a colonel and below a major general. With only eight percent of the Marine Corps made up of women — the fewest female service members of all the military branches — this is a major achievement for Mahlock.
She is a graduate of Marquette University, the US Army War College and Naval Postgraduate School.
Congratulations!