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发帖数: 3803 | 1 AP sources: Pentagon opens combat roles to women
FILE - This Jan. 19, 2013 file photo shows Defense Secretary Leon Panetta
speaking during a news conference in London. Panetta has removed US military
ban on women in combat, opening thousands of front line positions. (AP
Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press / January 23, 2013
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is lifting its ban on women serving in
combat, opening hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and
potentially elite commando jobs after generations of limits on their service
, defense officials said Wednesday.
The changes, set to be announced Thursday by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta,
will not happen overnight. The services must now develop plans for allowing
women to seek the combat positions, a senior military official said. Some
jobs may open as soon as this year, while assessments for others, such as
special operations forces, including Navy SEALS and the Army’s Delta Force,
may take longer. The services will have until January 2016 to make a case
to that some positions should remain closed to women.
The groundbreaking move recommended by the Joint Chiefs of Staff overturns a
1994 rule prohibiting women from being assigned to smaller ground combat
units.
Officials briefed The Associated Press on the changes on condition of
anonymity so they could speak ahead of the official announcement.
There long has been opposition to putting women in combat, based on
questions of whether they have the necessary strength and stamina for
certain jobs, or whether their presence might hurt unit cohesion.
But as news of Panetta’s expected order got out, members of Congress,
including the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, D-
Mich., announced their support.
‘‘It reflects the reality of 21st century military operations,’’ Levin
said.
Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, who will be the top Republican on the Armed
Services panel, said, however, that he does not believe this will be a broad
opening of combat roles for women because there are practical barriers that
have to be overcome in order to protect the safety and privacy of all
members of the military.
Panetta’s move comes in his final weeks as Pentagon chief and just days
after President Barack Obama’s inaugural speech in which he spoke
passionately about equal rights for all. The new order expands the
department’s action of nearly a year ago to open about 14,500 combat
positions to women, nearly all of them in the Army. Panetta’s decision
could open more than 230,000 jobs, many in Army and Marine infantry units,
to women.
In addition to questions of strength and performance, there also have been
suggestions that the American public would not tolerate large numbers of
women being killed in war.
Under the 1994 Pentagon policy, women were prohibited from being assigned to
ground combat units below the brigade level. A brigade is roughly 3,500
troops split into several battalions of about 800 soldiers each.
Historically, brigades were based farther from the front lines and they
often included top command and support staff.
The necessities of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, however, propelled women
into jobs as medics, military police and intelligence officers that were
sometimes attached — but not formally assigned — to battalions. So while a
woman couldn’t be assigned as an infantryman in a battalion going out on
patrol, she could fly the helicopter supporting the unit, or move in to
provide medical aid if troops were injured.
And these conflicts, where battlefield lines are blurred and insurgents can
lurk around every corner, have made it almost impossible to keep women clear
of combat.
Still, as recent surveys and experiences have shown, it will not be an easy
transition. When the Marine Corps sought women to go through its tough
infantry course last year, two volunteered and both failed to complete the
course. And there may not be a wide clamoring from women for the more
intense, dangerous and difficult jobs — including some infantry and
commando positions.
In the Navy, however, women have begun moving into the submarine force, with
several officers already beginning to serve.
Jon Soltz, who served two Army tours in Iraq and is the chairman of the
veterans group VoteVets.org, said it may be difficult for the military
services to carve out exceptions to the new rule. And while he acknowledged
that not all women are interested in pursuing some of the gritty combat jobs
, ‘‘some of them are, and when you’re looking for the best of the best
you cast a wide net. There are women who can meet these standards, and they
have a right to compete.’’
Two lawsuits were filed last year challenging the Pentagon’s ban on women
serving in combat, adding pressure on officials to overturn the policy. And
the military services have been studying the issue and surveying their
forces to determine how it may affect performance and morale.Continued... |
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