All U.S. military combat positions are being opened to women
Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the decision Thursday after years-long reviews
WashingtonCNN
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All U.S. military combat positions are being opened up to women, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Thursday.
The decision allows women to fill about 220,000 jobs that are now limited to men – including infantry, armor, reconnaissance and some special operations units.
“This means that 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. They’ll be able to drive tanks, give orders, lead infantry soldiers into combat,” Carter said at a news conference Thursday.
His move comes despite the objections of Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who had advocated keeping some roles limited to men.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
Topical Press Agency/Getty Images
Women during World War I —
Female army recruits from the United Kingdom are seen during drills in May 1917. World War I broke down barriers between military and civilian life. With the men away in battle, women took on an extraordinary role in support of the war, whether it was on the front lines or at home in factories and farms.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
Women during World War I —
Loretta Perfectus Walsh enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve in March 1917, becoming the first active-duty woman in the Navy and the first U.S. military woman who wasn't a nurse.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
Library of Congress
Women during World War I —
Women work at the Gray & Davis Co. ordnance factory in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Munitions workers faced harsh working conditions that were sometimes lethal, such as in the Barnbow National Factory explosion that killed 35 near Leeds, England.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
Topical Press Agency/Getty Images
Women during World War I —
A woman works as a porter at the Marylebone station in London. British propaganda posters declaring soldiers' dependence on female munitions workers gave women a sense that their labor contributions would be important -- and acknowledged. But this was not always the case.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
Library of Congress
Women during World War I —
A Russian women's regiment from Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) relaxes in front of its tents. Women across the globe would serve directly on the battlefields, with many serving as nurses, ambulance drivers and cooks.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
Library of Congress
Women during World War I —
Maria Bochkareva, nicknamed Yashka, was a Russian soldier who in 1917 created the 1st Russian Women's Battalion of Death -- an all-female combat unit.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
US Army
Women during World War I —
"Hello Girls" at work. The U.S. Army trained more than 400 female telephone operators to serve in France and England for the Army Signal Corps. These women were bilingual, speaking French and English.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
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Women during World War I —
Grace Banker receives a Distinguished Medal of Service for her role as chief operator in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. She worked at a post close to the front lines in France.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
Topical Press Agency/Getty Images
Women during World War I —
Female firefighters put a fire escape into position in the United Kingdom.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
US Navy
Women during World War I —
Lenah Higbee, a Canadian-born U.S. Navy chief nurse, served as superintendent of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps during World War I. She was the first female recipient of the Navy Cross.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
Maurice-Louis Branger/Roger Viollet/Getty Images
Women during World War I —
Nurses tend to wounded soldiers in France in 1915.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
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Women during World War I —
Julia Stimson was superintendent of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and the first woman to attain the rank of major in the Army. She earned the Distinguished Service Medal for her service in France.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
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Women during World War I —
Mairi Chisholm and Elsie Knocker drive an ambulance in July 1917. The two British women ran a first-aid post in Belgium only 100 yards from the trenches.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
Women during World War I —
Milunka Savic was a Serbian combatant and the most decorated female fighter in the history of warfare. She was honored by multiple countries for her bravery.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
Museum of London/Heritage Images/Getty Images
Women during World War I —
Mary Sophia Allen inspects policewomen in London in May 1915. Before the war, Allen had been imprisoned three times for her activism as a suffragette. She turned down an offer of wartime service with a Needlework Guild to become the second in command of the Women Police Service.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
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Women during World War I —
A member of the Women's Forestry Corps, part of the Women's Land Army in the United Kingdom, works circa 1916.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
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Women during World War I —
Women "navvies" work on railway building in Coventry, England.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
Women during World War I —
Dorothy Lawrence disguised herself as a man in order to become an English soldier in World War I.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
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Women during World War I —
A female munitions worker welds at an armaments factory.
Photos: Photos: Women during World War I
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Women during World War I —
A British Army lieutenant sits in a garden with his wife and three children while on leave during the war. In Great Britain and the United States, women confronted wartime shortages of food, fuel and housing as they struggled to maintain homes and families while they also worked outside the home.
“There will be no exceptions,” Carter said.
Carter’s historic announcement comes after years-long reviews, and after public push-back from the Marine Corps, which had sought exceptions to keep positions such as infantry, machine gunner, fire support and reconnaissance to men. A Marine Corps study suggests all-male squads are more effective in combat and less likely to be injured than integrated groups.
Carter acknowledged the Marines’ resistance, but said he’d decided to set a policy that covers the full department.
“We are a joint force, and I’ve decided to make a decision that applies to the entire force,” Carter said.
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.
But Dunford “was not comfortable” sharing the stage to explain his disagreement or serve as a “potted plant,” so he opted out – without Carter’s objection, a senior Obama administration official told CNN.
“In the end, the chairman didn’t feel comfortable having to say he disagreed with his boss,” the official said.
Instead, Dunford released a tepid statement – clearly avoiding saying he agreed with Carter’s decision. He said that “in the wake of the secretary’s decision, my responsibility is to ensure his decision is properly implemented.”
“Moving forward,” Dunford said, “my focus is to lead the full integration of women in a manner that maintains our joint warfighting capability, ensures the health and welfare of our people, and optimizes how we leverage talent across the Joint Force.”
The policy move will take effect after 30 days, Carter said.
He said the decision doesn’t mean there will quickly become an even gender split in most combat positions. He said there are “physical differences on average” between men and women and that “thus far, we’ve only seen small numbers of women qualify to meet our high physical standards” for some units.
“Going forward, we shouldn’t be surprised if these small numbers are also reflected in areas like recruitment, voluntary assignment, retention,” he said.
He acknowledged that “some service members, men and women, have a perception that integration would be pursued at a cost of combat effectiveness.”
However, Carter said: “The military has long prided itself on being a meritocracy.”
Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, who hopes to become the first woman to win the race to the White House, praised the move.
“We’ve seen women in our armed forces prove their heroism and abilities, now our official policy is catching up and women who are qualified for these positions should be able to compete and win them,” Clinton said at a New Hampshire event after the announcement.
Two women made history in August by becoming the first female soldiers to complete the Army’s Ranger School, but they couldn’t apply to join the 75th Ranger Regiment, an elite special operations force – until now.
