Carter Telling Military to Open All Combat Jobs to Women

The decision to welcome women in all military roles will “make sure our military remains the finest fighting force in the history of the world”.

He said that was likely to result in smaller numbers of women in some jobs. 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”.

A senior defense official says all the services will have to begin putting plans in place by April 1.

The president’s political appointees made it clear two years ago when the ban was lifted that they wanted all jobs opened, even as they ordered each service to study the effects.

Thursday’s announcement comes in a year in which several major decisions have come down that affect women in the military.

In the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, our courageous women in uniform have served with honor, on the front lines and some have given their very lives, he said. “The key will be how this is implemented, with a goal of making changes that improve the force, without quotas and keeping in mind that policy changes don’t eliminate any physical differences between men and women”. Other branches, including the Army, have been supportive of efforts to open combat jobs for women.

All women will be able to work in Pentagon with no barriers.

“Those who choose to turn a blind eye to those immutable realities do so at the expense of our Corps’ warfighting capability and, in turn, the security of the nation”, according to the Marine study. “The Senate and House Armed Services committees intend to carefully and thoroughly review all relevant documentation related to today’s decision”.

“There will be no exceptions”, Carter said at a news conference.

He said the Marine Corps had requested exemptions for some jobs, such as machine gunner, but that he had overruled those requests because the military is a joint force and should operate under a common set of standards. He said he was partially persuaded because other branches did not raise similar concerns about similar positions, and that he saw value in a “joint force” with equal rules across the board.

Declaring that “we are a joint force”, 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 grueling military jobs.

“That is reflected in my decision”, Carter said. None of the positions that will be opened in the Army infantry or armored roles nor in the special operations positions in the Air Force are at Fort Eustis or Langley Air Force Base.

The removal of any direct ground combat exclusions for women does not imply combat assignments would be optional for them, such as volunteering for elite units like the Army Rangers.