Carter said, “As long as they are qualified and meet the standards, Women now will be able to contribute to our nation”. It also opens the Marine Corps infantry, a battle-hardened force that many service officials had openly advocated keeping closed to female service members.
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Three women made history this year when they graduated from the U.S. Army’s elite Ranger school, previously only open to men.
Carter said he believed concerns raised by the Marines that allowing women could result in more casualties could be addressed during the implementation of the policy and the military would be best served by integrating all services without exceptions.
Thursday had originally been selected for Carter’s announcement of the policy change so that Dunford, the Marine general and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, could join the Defense secretary.
The Military Selective Service Act requires men to register 30 days after their 18th birthday and remain with the Selective Service System until their 26th birthday.
The US military has about 15% women in its workforce. And it also revealed that soldiers of both genders were nervous about women entering combat jobs, with men anxious that unit readiness would be degraded and women anxious they would be seen as getting a job because of their gender and not their qualifications.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s landmark decision Thursday to open all jobs to women in the military raises a question: Will women be required for the first time ever to register for military drafts, and is it constitutional if they are not?
Despite having combat roles closed to them, women still saw combat even before the ban was lifted.
“Our force of the future must continue to benefit from the best people America has to offer”, he said.
“The decision to make the military gender-neutral will maximize the combat effectiveness of Navy and Marine Corps”, Mabus said.
“I have had the opportunity to provide my advice on the issue of full integration of women into the armed forces”. At the time, women had been serving in war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than a decade.
Sen John McCain and Rep Mac Thornberry said their respective committees will “carefully and thoroughly review all relevant documentation related to today’s decision”.
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The announcement follows years of review concerning the matter and much public opposition from the Marine Corps, which petitioned to maintain specific positions, including infantry, reconnaissance and fire support, as male-only jobs.
