PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. – The first female Marine Corps general in charge of its tough-as-nails basic training site on Parris Island says she’s confident women in the Corps will be able to handle combat.

Brig. Gen. Loretta Reynolds says the Pentagon’s lifting of the combat exclusion against women earlier this year means commanders will be able to “just use the talent that they have. Just use it where they need it. That’s awesome.”

Reynolds was the first woman to command a Marine base in a combat zone when she was put in charge of Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan in 2010.