 More than a year after a mandate for the Pentagon opened previously closed ground combat and special operations jobs to women, officials say the Navy has its first female candidates for its most elite special warfare roles. Mark Walton, spokesman for the Naval Special Warfare Command, told the Two-Way. Jason Salata, confirmed to Military.com this week that a single female enlisted candidate remained in the training pipeline for Special Warfare Combatant Crewman, or SWCC. Because of operational security concerns, Salata said the Navy would not identify the candidates or provide updates on their progress in the selection pipeline. It's possible, however, that the first female member of these elite communities will come not from the outside, but from within. In October, a SWCC petty officer notified their chain-of-command that they identified as being transgender, Salata confirmed to Military.com. And if the two women in the Navy's special operations pipeline are successful, we may not get much detail. The two women now preparing to enter the Navy's special operations training pipeline will have to overcome some of the most daunting attrition rates in any military training process 
 
 Dunbar said the SEALs, which graduate six Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL classes per year, have an average attrition rate of 73 to 75 percent, while the special boat operator community has an average attrition rate of 63 percent. The attrition rate for SEAL officers is significantly lower, though; according to the Navy's 2015 implementation plan for women in special warfare, up to 65 percent of SEAL officer candidates successfully enter the community. But by the time they make it to that final phase of training, candidates have already been weeded down ruthlessly. Navy officials assess prospective special warfare operators and special boat operators, ranking them by their scores on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB, physical readiness test, special operations resiliency test, and a mental toughness exam. Nonetheless, Salata said, "It would be premature to speculate as to when we will see the first woman SEAL or SWCC graduate. Managing expectations is an important part of the deliberate assessment and selection process; it may take months and potentially years."
– A big first for the US Navy: The branch has its female SEAL candidate. A second woman is a candidate to become a special warfare combatant crewman, another elite special operations job previously open only to men. "They are the first candidates that have made it this far in the process" since the Pentagon opened front-line combat positions to women more than a year and a half ago, a spokesperson for the Naval Special Warfare Command tells NPR. The women, who have not been identified, still need to get through Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, which is grueling; they will need to complete the same training a man would. The spokesperson says it could still "take months and potentially years" before we see the first woman graduate from the SEAL or SWCC program. In another first for SWCC, a spokesperson for Naval Special Warfare Command confirms to Military.com that a petty officer recently informed their chain-of-command they identify as transgender.