“They’ll be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars and lead infantry soldiers into combat”, he said.
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Carter disagreed and said there will be no exceptions, but everyone in the roles will still have to meet the necessary standards.
Noting that the studies conducted by the services indicate there are physical and other differences on average between men and women, he said while this can not be applied to every man or woman, it is real and must be taken into account in implementation. Carter has given the military services until January 1 to present a timeline for implementing the historic change by April 1.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Joseph Dunford, had been the Marine Corps commandant, and he argued that the Marines should be allowed to keep women out of certain front-line combat jobs.
“When we desegregated our military, it became stronger”, President Barack Obama said in a statement describing the announcement as “historical”.
“Our force of the future must continue to benefit from the best people America has to offer”. Mabus and Air Force Secretary Deborah James have generally shown support for opening all jobs to women who can meet the same standards as men, while senior Army officials have not disclosed their recommendations.
Women will be fully integrated into combat roles deliberately and methodically, the secretary said, using seven guidelines.
Dunford did not attend the news conference to announce the change, and when pressed about his absence, Carter said he has discussed his decision multiple times with the chairman. After prolonged evaluations, the Army, Navy, Air Force & U.S. Special Operations Command had beneficial in that ladies ought to be allowed to serve of their infantry & armored units. A lot of American women in uniform have braved, and sometimes died from, a lot of unfriendly fire for soldiers who were not “in combat”. “If you’re a service member, you have some choices, but you don’t have absolute choice”. They would also be assigned to missions, tasks, and functions according to the operation’s needs. The services provided plans for reviews and evaluations to determine how that could be done.
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers welcomed the decision.
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The groundbreaking decision overturns a 1994 Pentagon rule that restricts women from artillery, armor, infantry and other such combat roles – even though in reality women often found themselves in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past 14 years.
