The US military has opened all combat roles to women

[webfact]

The US military has opened all combat roles to women



WASHINGTON: -- It has been announced that all combat roles in the US Army are to be opened to women.

It means females will be eligible for around 220 thousand positions.

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter says the historic move means they will be able to drive tanks, fire mortars and lead infantry soldiers into combat.

“To succeed in our mission, our national defence, we cannot afford to cut ourselves off from half of the country’s talents and skills. We have to take full advantage of every individual who can meet our standards.” Mr Carter told reporters at a briefing.

Making the case for exemption

The ban was initially lifted in 2013, but the US Marine Corps was given until 2016 to make the case for specific roles it believed should be exempt.

The armed services in the United States now have 30 days to submit their plans for adapting to welcoming women fully into their ranks.


-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2015-12-04

[webfact]

Pentagon chief to military: Open all combat jobs to women
By LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON (AP) — After three years of study and debate, Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered the military Thursday to open all military jobs to women, removing the final barriers that kept women from serving in combat, including the most dangerous and grueling commando posts.

His landmark decision rebuffed requests by the Marine Corps to exclude women from certain infantry and combat jobs and signaled a formal recognition that thousands of women served, and many were wounded or killed, in the last 14 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We are a joint force, and I have decided to make a decision which applies to the entire force," Carter told a news conference.

But he acknowledged some concerns. "Implementation won't happen overnight. And while at the end of the day this will make us a better and stronger force, there still will be problems to fix and challenges to overcome. We shouldn't diminish that."

Carter said the military can no longer afford to exclude half the population from high-risk military posts. He said that any man or woman who meets the standards should be able to serve, and he gave the armed services 30 days to submit plans to make the historic change.

Carter's order opens the final 10 percent of military positions to women — a total of about 220,000 jobs. And it allows them to serve in the most demanding and difficult jobs, including as special operations forces, such as the Army Delta units and Navy SEALs.

U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., one of the first Army women to fly combat missions in the 2003-2011 Iraq war, welcomed the decision.

"I didn't lose my legs in a bar fight — of course women can serve in combat," said Duckworth, whose helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. "This decision is long overdue."

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona and head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Congress will review the data and the decision.

Over the past few years, women have steadily moved into many jobs previously open only to men, including on Navy submarines, in Army artillery units, and as Night Stalkers, the elite special operations helicopter crews, best known for flying the Navy SEALS into Osama bin Laden's compound in 2011.

Three women became the first to take and pass the Army's difficult Ranger course.

The military services forwarded their recommendations to Carter earlier this fall. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Operations Command all said they would not seek any exceptions and would recommend removing the ban on women in dangerous combat jobs. .

Only the Marine Corps sought to keep some jobs closed.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Joseph Dunford, was the Marine Corps commandant at the time and argued that the Marines should be allowed to keep women out of certain front-line combat jobs. He cited studies showing that mixed-gender units aren't as capable as all-male units.

Months of testing, the Marine review said, found that women often couldn't carry as much weight or shoot as well as the men. Allowing women to compete for ground combat jobs, it concluded, would make the Marine Corps a less-efficient fighting machine.

Carter on Thursday said he came to a different conclusion, but he said the integration of women into the combat jobs will be deliberate and methodical and will address the Marines' concerns.

Dunford did not attend the news conference to announce the change, and when pressed about his absence, Carter said he has discussed his decision multiple times with the chairman. In a prepared statement, Dunford said he provided his best military advice on the issue, and now his 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."

A spokeswoman for the Marines, Maj. Christian Devine, said in a statement that the corps will begin immediately to implement the change, but will maintain the standards of the force while also working to "optimize individual performance."

Notably, Gen. Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, said his office also did extensive analysis and decided not to keep any of the high-risk, high-pressure commando jobs closed. Votel said that integrating women into certain jobs in recent years, including in the Special Operations Aviation Regiment and in cultural supports teams in Afghanistan, benefited the force.

"If candidates meet time-tested and scientifically validated standards, and if they have proven that they have the physical, intellectual, professional, and character attributes that are so critical to special operations, they will be welcomed into the special operations forces ranks," Votel said in a statement.

He and Carter also noted the physical and medical concerns, including data that suggests women are injured more often than men.

"For a variety of reasons, equal opportunity likely will not mean equal participation by men and women in all specialties. There must be no quotas or perception thereof," said Carter. "The studies that have been done suggest there may be smaller numbers of women in these fields, the fields that were previously closed."

The services will have to begin putting plans in place by April 1.

Carter has hinted at this decision for months, telling U.S. troops in Sicily in October that limiting his search for qualified military candidates to just half the population would be "crazy."

Answering a question from a Marine in Sicily, Carter said, "You have to recruit from the American population. Half the American population is female. So I'd be crazy not to be, so to speak, fishing in that pond for qualified servicemembers."


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-12-04

[captspectre]

women in the Navy seals? is that <deleted> carter going to have a Navy admiral to "oversee" the training of the females like the army did? the proof will be in the pudding. women do not belong in special forces or special operations they don't have the strength or the mental make up for it.

[TheKnave]

The epitome of stupid.

[Digitalnomade]

that's not good for Daech , being killed by a woman means Muslim will go straight to hell.

[h90]

women in the Navy seals? is that <deleted> carter going to have a Navy admiral to "oversee" the training of the females like the army did? the proof will be in the pudding. women do not belong in special forces or special operations they don't have the strength or the mental make up for it.

But for example for sniper they are far better, or for being a pilot for a long time without sleeping and I know some farmer ladies in Europe who have a lot more strength and mental power than 90% of the males from the city.

Logic thinking would be to put everyone (no matter what sex) at the position he/she performs best. If there are a few women who perform as Navy seals than OK, but I guess most won't. Forcing something out of political correctness is stupid......

[nottocus]

God...just what I'd need when fighting Daesch. A bloody woman yakking on her phone and when I ask for a new clip, she hands me her nail clippers.

[Dustdevil]

that's not good for Daech , being killed by a woman means Muslim will go straight to hell.

Either that or their 27 virgins will be US servicewomen who will sexually humiliate them and decapitate them with a rusty knife and then make them repeat the First Amendment while their heads roll in the sand. Rinse and repeat. Yoh, bi#&ch, I'm down with that. (For those of you unfamiliar with the full gist of the 1st Amendment, it also covers freedom of and freedom from religion.)

[sanukjim]

+That is the liberal government in the US lowering the standards for its soldiers,So far no woman has passed the book camp type qualifations to become an 0300 MOS.Thats basic marine quals.

[Just1Voice]

In my 20 years in the Marine, I've seen more than my share of tough-a$$ed Marines who applied for Marine Recon, and couldn't make it through the training. I've had friends who were SEALS, and got the same story from them. Normal combat troops, I don't have a problem with that so much, but when it comes to the "elite" forces, that's a different story. And if you lower the standards to allow women to compete, then you are lowering the standards of those units as a whole. Screw that! If a woman wants to apply, fine, but don't later bitch that it was "unfair" to you because you are a woman. Elite units have high, tough standards for a very good reason. If you can't pass them, you don't belong. Simple as that.

[Berkshire]

women in the Navy seals? is that <deleted> carter going to have a Navy admiral to "oversee" the training of the females like the army did? the proof will be in the pudding. women do not belong in special forces or special operations they don't have the strength or the mental make up for it.

If they can pass the SEAL PST and subsequent training program, then why not?

[Krataiboy]

At a stroke, the world's most militarily aggressive nation has doubled the number of lives which can be squandered on battlefield by a President who doesn't even have to ask Congress - let alone the American people -before starting a war.

Feminist bosoms must be swelling with pride.

Edited December 4, 2015 by Krataiboy

[bendejo]

I wonder if the US goes back to conscription will the call-up include women? The deferment for homosexuality is a thing of the past, and if the draft comes back, well, some people may regret that they got their wish.

[djlest]

wow thats quite a ballsy move.... perhaps they need more soldiers and this is the best way to recruit more pawns... playing on the feminist we can do what men can do brigade will certainly net them a lot of candidates.

however, im guessing it will heavily affect how men opperate, will it distract them? will it cause more tensions in the ranks? will rape go up, and god forbid the daesh capture them...

Hmmmm, politically correct yes... practical? i dont think so...

[Berkshire]

wow thats quite a ballsy move.... perhaps they need more soldiers and this is the best way to recruit more pawns... playing on the feminist we can do what men can do brigade will certainly net them a lot of candidates.

however, im guessing it will heavily affect how men opperate, will it distract them? will it cause more tensions in the ranks? will rape go up, and god forbid the daesh capture them...

Hmmmm, politically correct yes... practical? i dont think so...

You do understand that women have been serving in the US armed forces for years. In fact, there was only about 10% of the jobs that women were prohibited from performing. This new mandate just lifts the restrictions on this remaining 10%.

[arjunadawn]

Besides the inherent compromise that exists to an entire specops team by having among them a single women if captured, on a day to day basis, most could hardly do the job- its physics. It is not simply cultural its intrinsic to most me- it is near compulsive for most men who would be drawn to this type of work to also be drawn to aiding the helpless, the weak, the endangered, the fragile- women! This is such a degradation of the military, under the cover "for the women." This will compromise most men on the team, certainly missions, and most obviously national security. Excepting the men who will always see women as destroyers and opportunists on the teams, and will never even build a rapport with them. In fact most SpecOps leaders have already and repeatedly said it will degrade the ability; its only been the pols who have said its a great idea. Finally a leftist has said to hell with the studies and command protests.

I have met women that can do some jobs better than SF men, but not mostly. Perhaps just a couple in decades. Its not true each SF guy is amazing. Some suck. I compare women generally to those that suck; some women are better able to do the job then some men who suck at their job. This is not an anti women comparison, this is an anti suck SF men thing because women cannot do the job of most of the Olympiads in these teams. Periods! Have they mixed the Olympics?

You cannot get from here to an enacted policy without degrading standards, like they did in the 80s/90s. You may not like it but its true. Displeased with the numbers for minorities and unable to get them increased no matter the effort (many minorities were just not attracted to the life, austerity, cold, wet, suckiness), special forces made land navigation- previously a real SOB- something that can be later instructed with by the Team Sergeants on the A Team. Read. Whereas previously men arrived on teams experts and ready for war they began arriving unable to navigate a compass, map, or land. The ability to swim with clothes on or dog paddle with gear and weapon also became optional. Also, a person could be failed over and over and over again. As long as they allowed themselves to sit in a recycle status they could keep trying to pass. Some spent years on permanent wait status- entire promotion cycles assigned to Special Forces but never even passing the basic criteria. Now add women into the mix and the adjunct channels of communication expressing the command's will will have standards markedly lower. It will happen like this.

The Army or such will change nothing substantively. "We have changed nothing." However, the pressure will be quite clear under the officers who's promotions rest on good ORB reports- graduate more! If any think this is an unfair association consider this: By the late 1990s institutional memory and capability had fled the Special Forces community. So, it came as little surprise that following 9/11, when the US prepared to go to war, they found they needed more SF- a lot more, and thus birthed the recent well known special forces world of contractors and also the satellite scum that was in its orbit. They had to concede they gutted Special Forces. They rebuilt the medical course, added more billets, etc. Without question, the earlier work of Pat Schroder and the lowered standards of the early 90s hollowed Special Forces. This will happen exactly the same way because the problem isnt comparing women and minorities and others/ The problem is social engineering of the military. That is what is essentially the same.

Edited December 4, 2015 by arjunadawn

[NickJ]

Should have just let them into the NFL first and let everyone watch.

[Thongkorn]

It will not work ask the Israelis. Men were stopping to help the females, no disrespect to the females,

[Linky]

Besides the inherent compromise that exists to an entire specops team by having among them a single women if captured, on a day to day basis, most could hardly do the job- its physics. It is not simply cultural its intrinsic to most me- it is near compulsive for most men who would be drawn to this type of work to also be drawn to aiding the helpless, the weak, the endangered, the fragile- women! This is such a degradation of the military, under the cover "for the women." This will compromise most men on the team, certainly missions, and most obviously national security. Excepting the men who will always see women as destroyers and opportunists on the teams, and will never even build a rapport with them. In fact most SpecOps leaders have already and repeatedly said it will degrade the ability; its only been the pols who have said its a great idea. Finally a leftist has said to hell with the studies and command protests.

I have met women that can do some jobs better than SF men, but not mostly. Perhaps just a couple in decades. Its not true each SF guy is amazing. Some suck. I compare women generally to those that suck; some women are better able to do the job then some men who suck at their job. This is not an anti women comparison, this is an anti suck SF men thing because women cannot do the job of most of the Olympiads in these teams. Periods! Have they mixed the Olympics?

You cannot get from here to an enacted policy without degrading standards, like they did in the 80s/90s. You may not like it but its true. Displeased with the numbers for minorities and unable to get them increased no matter the effort (many minorities were just not attracted to the life, austerity, cold, wet, suckiness), special forces made land navigation- previously a real SOB- something that can be later instructed with by the Team Sergeants on the A Team. Read. Whereas previously men arrived on teams experts and ready for war they began arriving unable to navigate a compass, map, or land. The ability to swim with clothes on or dog paddle with gear and weapon also became optional. Also, a person could be failed over and over and over again. As long as they allowed themselves to sit in a recycle status they could keep trying to pass. Some spent years on permanent wait status- entire promotion cycles assigned to Special Forces but never even passing the basic criteria. Now add women into the mix and the adjunct channels of communication expressing the command's will will have standards markedly lower. It will happen like this.

The Army or such will change nothing substantively. "We have changed nothing." However, the pressure will be quite clear under the officers who's promotions rest on good ORB reports- graduate more! If any think this is an unfair association consider this: By the late 1990s institutional memory and capability had fled the Special Forces community. So, it came as little surprise that following 9/11, when the US prepared to go to war, they found they needed more SF- a lot more, and thus birthed the recent well known special forces world of contractors and also the satellite scum that was in its orbit. They had to concede they gutted Special Forces. They rebuilt the medical course, added more billets, etc. Without question, the earlier work of Pat Schroder and the lowered standards of the early 90s hollowed Special Forces. This will happen exactly the same way because the problem isnt comparing women and minorities and others/ The problem is social engineering of the military. That is what is essentially the same.

Anyone else see the standard long post and decide to skip it?

[Thorgal]

I think something big is coming. Something like WW3...

[sgtsabai]

This is a tough decision for me. On one hand I've known women that were extremely competent wildland firefighters, and if you think that job isn't tough just try it, and others that should and sometimes were kicked to the rubbish bin, the same as some men. Not every woman is going to want to Spec Op, as long as the standards are not lowered, as arjunadawn rightly worries, I don't have a problem. My son talked with me about going through Navy SEALS, not much different than USMC boot camp, except for the cold water, the &lt;deleted&gt; cold water, and I know what the water is like around Coronado, &lt;deleted&gt; cold. I was never tempted, but I wonder could I have done the cold water part? Screw political correct, peoples lives are on the line, one, no matter the gender or sexual orientation, has to be able to pass the test with the standards unchanged. If they can, welcome on board.

[arunsakda]

Hey Vasquez, has anybody ever mistaken you for a man?

Edited December 6, 2015 by arunsakda

[Cynical Sailor]

I was in the Australian navy when we first allowed women to serve at sea. This change had some serious teething problems. It took probably 10 years for the old and bold to adjust. Now it's as if they've been there forever, working shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. I'm sure in 10 years time women will be fully integrated into all aspects of the American military. That's not to say that the trailblazers or those they serve with won't have their share of issues - they will, but like all things, some people will accept the change easier than others.

[Seastallion]

God...just what I'd need when fighting Daesch. A bloody woman yakking on her phone and when I ask for a new clip, she hands me her nail clippers.

I suppose it's attitudes like that, indicative of a certain level of intellect, that has prompted the latest development.

" we cannot afford to cut ourselves off from half of the country’s talents and skills." Means they can't get enough good men.

[arunsakda]

One of the women I fly with is a former USAF KC135 aircraft commander bull dyke with a popeye tattoo, cigarette hanging out of her gob half the time.

More man than I'll ever be.

Edited December 6, 2015 by arunsakda

[thaipopsy]

No surprise here. I have a girlfriend, soldier in the US Army..she mention to me that the US Army had problems recruiting men, and will soon place more women in no fighting positions to free men for combat duties. A big and long war is on the horizon....

[OMGImInPattaya]

Better them than me.