Military removes ‘man’ from 19 job titles in a step towards gender-neutrality

Even age-old names like 'seaman' could be scrapped

Two women graduate from the US Army Rangers training (Getty)

The military is scrapping the word “man” from 19 job titles to help foster a more gender-neutral work environment.

Top service leaders are pushing to keep the word “man” in some of the most iconic occupations, however, according to the Marine Corps Times, as names like “seaman” could be scrapped.

The military occupation specialities (MOS) were agreed to be changed in name after a month-long review ordered by the Navy secretary Ray Mabus, one month after defense secretary Ash Carter demanded that all military jobs be opened up to women.

A formal announcement is expected within a few days.

From an original list of 33 names, terms such as “rifleman” and “mortarman” remain the same.

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

The remaining names will mostly change the word “man” to “marine”, including “basic infantry marine”, “light armor vehicle marine” and “fire support marine”.

One title - the anti-tank missileman - is the only position to switch to “gunner”.

Some titles that include the word “chief” and “specialist” were not updated as they were already gender-neutral.

Words like “manned” and “manpower” will not change as they are not describing the person doing the job.