The US Navy SEALS and the Navy Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC) have recently shifted their ethos and creed to a gender-neutral representation. The elite naval units will be foregoing certain gender specific terms such as "brotherhood" to reflect inclusivity in their statements.

The memo called for the SWCC creed to change the term "brotherhood" in the first paragraph to "group of maritime warriors."

Part of the changes to the SEAL ethos will be applied in the first paragraph which says : "Common citizens with uncommon desire to succeed" in place of its original form, "A common man with uncommon desire to succeed."

In a statement released to the American Military News, Naval Special Warfare spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Stroup confirmed the gendered deviation of the statements:

"The previous versions of the SEAL Ethos and SWCC Creed were written prior to the law allowing women to serve as operators in Naval Special Warfare. The changes do not in any way reflect lowering standards of entry, rather they ensure that all those who meet the requirements to train to become a SEAL or SWCC are represented in the ethos or creed they live out", Stroup said.

The Lt. Cmdr. added that the changes were made to comply in light of current reforms in the law which could potentially allow women to join the elite military units. The changes have been put in place despite the fact that there have been no women to date that have entered the elite units and successfully completed SEAL or SWCC training.

Other alterations to the creed replaced certain words such as the phrase in the first paragraph "I am that man" to " I am that warrior."

In the fourth paragraph of the SEAL ethos original version - "The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart from other men" has been changed to - "The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart from others."

The modified version of the SEAL ethos can be seen on the Naval Special Warfare Command's official website with an archive link to the original version. Rear Adm. Collin P. Green, the commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command said the changes were made " to better reflect our ranks now and into the future."

US Navy SEALs
U.S. Navy Students in Sea Air and Land (SEAL) qualification training navigate the surf off the cost of Coronado during a maritime operations training exercise October 28, 2010 in Coronado, California Blake Midnight/US Navy via Getty Images