The original Molly Marine statue dates to 1943 and was part of a World War II recruiting effort. The authors noted that Molly Marine monuments at various bases depict a female Marine wearing the traditional open-collar uniform jacket. In 2015, two female Marine officers wrote an op-ed for the website Task & Purpose opposing the change and arguing that it would distance female Marines from their heritage and suppress gender differences and female identity. The coats are another sign of eroding gender barriers - something that hasn’t always been welcomed. The Corps had long opposed opening combat roles to women, but it recently appointed its first female infantry platoon commander - so far one of only two female Marines to pass the Marine Corps’ 13-week Infantry Officer Course at Quantico, Va., out of more than three dozen who have attended.
The service had been developing and testing the new style coat since at least 2013, and it had been issuing them to female Marines in and around Washington for field testing. Neller approved the modified blues coat in January 2016. Ray Mabus, then-secretary of the Navy, called for uniforms that “don’t divide us as male or female, but rather unite us as sailors or Marines.” That included the opening of combat job fields to women across the services. The Corps announced its plans to adopt the modified female dress blues coat in 2016, coinciding with a Pentagon push for gender-neutral physical standards and job opportunities. They will replace a version of the coat that featured an open collar and lapels. Unlike the male uniforms, the new coats do not have breast or lower pockets.