(CNN) A platoon of female Marine recruits will make history Saturday when they report for training with a historically all-male battalion for the first time in the Marine Corps.

The approximately 50 female Marines will train alongside five platoons of male Marines of the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, according to a news release.

"The decision was made by Marine Corps leadership in support of training efficiency," the release says.

The all-female platoon comes three years after the Department of Defense began accepting women for all armed combat positions in January 2016.

In January 2017, the first three women joined the infantry Marines , serving in the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

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