U.S. Army Capt. Kristen Griest, left, of Orange, Conn., stands in formation during an Army Ranger School graduation ceremony, Friday, Aug. 21, 2015, at Fort Benning, Ga. Griest and First Lt. Shaye Haver became the first female soldiers to complete the Army's rigorous school, putting a spotlight on the debate over women in combat. John Bazemore AP 

 Already a trailblazer, Army Captain Kristen Griest became the Army’s first female infantry officer when, on Monday, the Army approved her request to transfer from the military police unit she had been serving in. 
 
 Griest became well-known last year after she became one of the first three women to successfully complete the Army's elite Ranger School course. 
 
 “Like any other officer, male or female, that wants to transfer their branch, she took the opportunity and applied for an exception to the Army policy to transfer her branch from Military Police to Infantry,” said Bob Purtiman, a spokesman at Fort Benning, Georgia. Purtiman confirmed to ABC News that Griest's transfer request was approved by the Army on Monday and she became immediately eligible to serve in an Army infantry unit. 
 
 After successfully completing Ranger School last year, Griest returned to service at her home base at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The participation of women in the Ranger School course was part of the Army's research into whether women should be integrated into combat units. The other military services also conducted similar programs that were presented to Defense Secretary Ash Carter last fall. 
 
 In December, Carter ordered the military services to open up all combat specialties and branches to women, and since then, they have been implementing plans to do so. 
 
 Two weeks ago, the Army announced that 22 newly commissioned female officers from the U.S. Military Academy, college ROTC programs and Officer Candidate School had volunteered to serve in combat infantry and armor units. They are expected to join those units in 2017 after successfully completing the necessary training and requirements. 
 
 At the time, the Army said it was seeking applications from female officers already on active duty interested in transferring into infantry or Army units. An announcement was expected by the end of June as to how many transfer requests had been accepted. 
 
 On Thursday, Griest will graduate from the Maneuver Captains Career Course at Fort Benning. Passing the two-month leadership course is a pre-requisite for holding a command position. But Purtiman said other female officers from other Army branches have graduated from the course in the past. 
 
 Griest initially entered the course as a military police officer, but with the Army's approval of her transfer, her completion of the course will make her eligible for a command position in an infantry unit. Captains typically command companies consisting of between 100 and 150 soldiers. 
 
 Last August, Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver became the first women to graduate from Ranger School. Two months later, Army Reservist Maj. Lisa Jaster became the third woman to successfully complete the demanding course. 
 
 Griest's next assignment is not being disclosed. 

 Captain Kristen Griest will become the nation’s first female Army infantry officer, military officials announced on Wednesday. 
 
 Griest has passed and is expected to graduate from the Maneuver Captain’s Course at Fort Benning on Thursday. 
 
 Play Facebook 
 
 Twitter 
 
 Embed These Women Could Soon Be Commanding Troops on the Front Lines 1:48 autoplay autoplay Copy this code to your website or blog 
 
 A U.S. Army official said that it is very possible that she will be the only female infantry officer in the Army for months —likely through the end of the year. 
 
 Griest was also one of the first women to ever graduate from Ranger School joining Lt. Shaye Haver in August 2015 as part of that historic class. 
 
 Related: Army Approves 22 Female Officer Candidates for Possible Combat Units 
 
 Until the Pentagon overturned a ban on women serving in combat positions, no woman was allowed to be an infantry officer. 
 
 Capt. Kristen Griest waits at Lawson Airfield for the Airborne Assault exercise to begin during U.S. Army's Ranger School at Fort Benning, Ga. on April 25, 2015. Griest and 1st Lt. Shayne Haver are the first women to complete the grueling Ranger School and were scheduled to graduate Friday, Aug. 21, alongside 94 male soldiers at Fort Benning, Ga., families of the soldiers confirmed Wednesday, Aug. 19. Robin Trimarchi / Ledger-Enquirer via AP 
 
 And it will be every bit as tough for the women as it is for the men to make it through the grueling training. 
 
 After being commissioned, they have to complete an infantry officer basic course and then complete Ranger School. 
 
 Related: All Combat Roles Now Open to Women, Pentagon Says 
 
 Most will also go on to Airborne School before being assigned to an infantry unit. 
 
 Since Griest already completed Ranger and Airborne School, she now becomes the first female infantry officer in the Army. But a senior U.S. military official explains that even though she will is now qualified to serve in a combat position, she won’t actually take command of her infantry unit until spring or summer of 2017. 
 
 Twenty-two women have volunteered to be infantry or armor officers but none are expected to report to their units or take command until spring or summer of 2017.
– She made history once. Now she's done it again. Kristen Griest, one of the first female soldiers to earn a Ranger tab, has become the US Army's first female infantry officer after the military overturned a ban on women in combat positions, reports the Army Times. "Like any other officer wishing to branch-transfer, Capt. Griest applied for an exception to Army policy to transfer from military police to infantry," says a rep from Fort Benning in Georgia. "Her transfer was approved by the Department of the Army [on Monday] and she's now an infantry officer." She'll be eligible to hold a command position when she graduates from the two-month Maneuver Captains Career Course at Fort Benning on Thursday, per ABC News. "I am proud of Capt. Kristen Griest, not because she is the first, but because she is following her heart," Lisa Jaster, who graduated from the Ranger course two months after Griest and Shaye Haver, tells the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. "She is a leader of soldiers who puts her whole self into her job and will continue to make sacrifices in order to make our Army stronger." Griest could be the only female infantry officer for months, though a military official says she likely won't take command of her infantry unit until next spring or summer, per NBC News. Around that time, at least nine other women are expected to enter the Army's infantry branch after completing training. Thirteen women have been approved to enter its armor branch.