Two female United States Army officers are on the precipice of making American history. They’ve officially been given the chance to vie to become elite soldiers, and don one of the most prestigious and valorous flattish cloth caps in the military.

They’ve been approved to take part in “initial Special Forces training, the first step in the long process to earn the coveted Green Beret”, said an Army spokesperson.

More from Stars and Stripes:

The women are the first female soldiers to be accepted into the Special Forces Assessment and Selection and could report to the three-week program at Fort Bragg, North Carolina as early as October, said Maj. Melody Faulkenberry, a spokeswoman for the Army’s John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s order last year to drop all restrictions on women serving in front-line combat jobs and units paved the way for women to attempt the rigorous trainingthat soldiers must complete before entering Special Forces. The earliest the women could earn the Green Beret and Special Forces tab and be assigned to an Operational Detachment-Alpha would be in 2018, though they have not yet been officially assigned to an SFAS class, Faulkenberry said.

The Army declined to name the women or provide information about their service backgrounds.

Faulkenberry said it would be unfair to publicly identify the soldiers.

The military-focused publication speculates that the duo were probably commissioned three years ago, and are either captains, or lieutenants. Both of these factors are also requirements to be accepted by the cutthroat selection process.

According to the Army, 340 soldiers applied to be invited to the training. Only 220 (men and women) were accepted.

Again, from Stars and Stripes:

To earn the Green Beret, officers must complete a strenuous physical assessment, SFAS, the Army’s Airborne School, the Maneuver Captain’s Career Course or the Special Operations Captain’s Career Course and the Special Forces Qualification Course. The culminating “Q”course lasts 64 weeks.

Generally, one-third of soldiers accepted for Special Forces Assessment and Selection graduate to the “Q” course, Faulkenberry said. Roughly 50 percent of soldiers who begin the Qualification Course graduate and earn the Green Beret, she added.

We wish them luck. “De Oppresso Liber”.