Top Admiral: Navy To Open SEAL Team to Women

“Why shouldn’t anybody who can meets these [standards] be accepted? And the answer is, there is no reason”, Adm. Jon Greenert said Tuesday in an exclusive interview with Navy Times and its sister publication Defense News.

Navy spokesman Cmdr. William Marks told Fox News early Wednesday that Greenert’s statement did not reflect an official policy shift, saying “a final review and decision is still pending”. SEALs are highly specialized and trained to handle challenging warfare capabilities, including direct action warfare.

Navy SEALs also had a central role in the CIA operation that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011. “Second, that they are gender-neutral, and third, that they have something to do with the job”, he told the Navy Times.

The Navy has said it is on track to open all ratings to women by next year, but this is the first indication that the SEALs are leaning toward accepting candidates. In the case of Ranger School, for example, the female soldiers were expected to meet the same standards as the men. In addition to combat and logistics training, the regimen includes cold-water surf torture and “drown-proofing”, in which aspiring SEALs are required to swim and float with both their hands and feet bound.

Women would be allowed to compete for spots on the Navy SEALs and the Army’s Delta Force, according to the A.P., which said “senior officials” disclosed the plans.

Greenert did not provide a specific timeline for when the SEALs would officially be open to women.

This is the first year women have been allowed to attend Ranger School in Fort Benning.

Unlike the male graduates, the two women can’t apply to join the 75th Ranger Regiment, an elite special operations force.