The US military will open up all positions — including frontline combat roles — to women, defence secretary Ashton Carter has announced in a sweeping move officially ending centuries of men-only tradition. The historic step served as a rebuke to a Marine Corps call this year for a partial exemption, after it argued mixed-gender combat units were not as effective as male groups. “There will be no exceptions,” Carter said, adding he was confident the change would enhance “combat effectiveness.” He noted that while, on average, physical differences exist between sexes, plenty of women can meet the military’s rigorous physical standards for combat roles — just as there are some men who cannot.
“As long as they qualify and meet the standards, women will … be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars, and lead infantry soldiers into combat,” Carter said. “They’ll be able to serve as Army Rangers and Green Berets, Navy SEALS, Marine Corps infantry, Air Force parajumpers and everything else that was previously open only to men.” Given the tough physical standards, Carter stressed that equal opportunity would probably not translate to equal participation of men and women in all roles.
“There must be no quotas or perception thereof,” he said. Currently, the US military comprises some 1.34 million active-duty personnel, about 15.6% of them women.
President Barack Obama welcomed the change, saying it would improve the US military just as racial de-segregation did in the 1950s. “As commander in chief, I know that this change, like others before it, will again make our military even stronger,” he said.
