“As long as they qualify and meet the standards, women will now be able to contribute to our mission in ways they could not before”, Carter said.
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Women will now be able to help fill some of the 220,000 roles that are currently only open to their male counterparts – positions that include some special operations units and infantry – among other roles.
So far, the U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy said they will open all positions to women, but the Marines have expressed disapproval.
No exceptions was the recommendation of the Secretary of the Army, the secretary of the Air Force, and the secretary of the Navy, as well as the chief of staff of the Army, chief of staff of the Air Force, chief of Naval operations, and the commander of US Special Operations Command. Secretary Carter added today that this is “a matter of legal dispute”, and we may yet have young men and women register upon turning 18, but the outcome will not affect the Pentagon’s broader policy on equality.
Earlier this year, First Lt. Shaye Haver of Copperas Cove, Texas, and Capt. Kristen Griest of Orange, Connecticut became the first two females to graduate from one of the military’s most challenging courses, the Army’s elite Ranger School.
The arguments for and against women in combat are familiar; we heard majority reprised during the training of women Ranger candidates at Fort Benning. But a Marine Corps study made public by a women’s advocacy group this week found that after months of testing mixed-gender combat units, troops reported morale equal to that of all-male groups and higher than noncombat integrated groups.
“Today is a historic day for the USA military”.
In January 2013, then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced a timetable for the military services to submit plans for how they would lift restrictions in place since 1994 that banned women from serving in combat units.
Sec. of Defense Ash Carter announces that all military occupations will open to women.
Watch Carter’s announcement above, via the AP/NYT.
Women have attended US military academies since the 1970s, and their military roles were expanded in the 1990s.
“And, as I said, I came to a different judgment about a part of the conclusions of the studies that were conducted by the Marine Corps when he was commandant”.
Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona and head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Congress will review the data and the decision.
“More women entering into combat means more women rise through the ranks to take on leadership roles, and gain the important status and power to better advocate for important issues that affect all servicemembers”, she said in a statement. “We are a joint force”, he said.
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“Our force of the future must continue to benefit from the best people America has to offer”, Carter said.
