The decision allows women to fill about 220,000 jobs that are now limited to men – including infantry, armor, reconnaissance and some special operations units. But after three years of studying the effect of women in the armed forces, Carter chose to make a blanket rule to open every combat position to women, without exceptions, as long as they meet the standards.
Advertisement
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced Thursday that he is opening all jobs in combat units to women, ending a three-year period of research on the subject.
Declaring that “we are a joint force”, Mr Carter said that while moving women into these jobs will present challenges, the military can no longer afford to exclude half of the population from gruelling military positions.
“Our force of the future must continue to benefit from the best people America has to offer”, Mr Carter said.
In a joint statement, the chairmen of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees said Mr Carter’s decision will have a “consequential impact on our service members and our military’s warfighting capabilities”. Averages have no relevance to the abilities and performance of individual Marines…
A Pentagon official confirmed that the announcement is forthcoming Thursday.
Mr Carter, who is Mr Obama’s fourth defense secretary and started his job in February after working his way up the Pentagon’s bureaucratic ranks, has spoken frequently about the need for the vast USA military to be inclusive so it can attract the talent it needs.
“Many of the positions now banning women are necessary for career development and success”, a spokesperson for the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) told The Muse.
The Army, Navy and Air Force, however, have always been edging toward women in tactical positions. In January 2013, the defense secretary at the time, Leon Panetta, announced that he was rescinding a longtime ban on women serving directly in ground combat units, but gave the services until this fall to research the issue.
Many Western countries around the world allow women to serve in front-line combat roles, including Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, and Sweden Earlier this year, I spoke with Brig. “We are a joint force”, he said.
It’s worth noting that Dunford sought the exemption for the Marines only, and not for the other service branches.
One question is whether Congress needs to amend the Selective Service Act, a law that requires all American males to register for the military draft within 30 days of their 18th birthdays.
“He will be at my side”, Carter said. Female recruits could now be ordered to serve “in your regular infantry battalions, units that women really don’t want to go into”, said Donnelly.
Advertisement
Notably, Gen. Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, said his office also did extensive analysis and decided not to keep any of the high-risk, high-pressure commando jobs closed.
