Today, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced to the media that he has opted to lift a ban that had been in place since 1994, allowing women to join combat, saying that “if they can meet the qualifications for the job, then they should have the right to serve.”
Those qualifications include standards for physical fitness, which Panetta said will not change.
From NBCNews:
The decision replaces a 1994 military policy memo signed by Les Aspin, a defense secretary under President Bill Clinton, that excluded women from assignments to units below the brigade level if the unit would be engaged in direct combat.
The change is expected to open 230,000 front-line positions to women.
…
The secretary said that there would be a review period for each of the armed services to see if there are any jobs that should be excluded. He wants recommendations on his desk by May 15.
But Pentagon officials said it might be next year before specifics are worked out and women can begin applying for the newly opened positions.
This article appears in Jan 24-30, 2013.
For the uninformed, “women have been in combat” since OEF/OIF began. It is a technicality that’s been changed, as commanders have been going around it for well over a decade by having women “attached” to their units, because, by law, they couldn’t be “assigned.” Women have been awarded both Bronze and Silver Stars, the Bronze with V for Valor in OEF & OIF.
If they pass EQUAL physical and ALL other Requirements, start the Draft Registration tomorrow….
NOW…what about the question asked cadets at West Point, “Would you fire on American Citizens if ordered ?”
A heavily armed woman with PMS——————-RUN AWAY!
FOR THOSE CONCERNED THAT WOMEN CAN’T PHYSICALLY DO THE JOB, PLEASE READ: NYT
When the Bullets Flew, ‘They Didn’t Care That I Was a Woman’
Stacy Pearsall
Staff Sgt. Stacy Pearsall, who was a photographer in Iraq, in a self-portrait over Baghdad during her first deployment in 2003.
By JAMES DAO
Published: January 24, 2013