Women in combat.
With every passing day, the United States military grows more and more inclusive. First, “don’t ask don’t tell” was repealed, then uniformed servicemembers were allowed to march in gay pride parades. Now, the hundreds of thousands of combat positions once closed to women are now going to be opened up for females. The Department of Defense is overturning its ban on women in combat. Women were already serving in front line support positions, but not in the infantry, armor corps, or special forces. Well, now those roles will be opened up for interested female applicants.
“This is excellent news. I’m delighted to hear this,” says retired Marine Captain Zoe Bedell, one of the plaintiffs in an ACLU discrimination lawsuit against the US military filed in November. “It’s been a long time coming and it’s good we’re going to finally recognize women for the work we’re doing.”
Currently, the military has two standards of fitness, one for men and one for women. Hopefully, they will revise their their fitness standards and change it from men and women to combat positions and noncombat positions. This way the current fitness standard of the combat troops won’t be lowered in some attempt to allow women to serve in battle, and the desk jockeys that make up the bulk of the military can remain where they are regardless of gender.
Tags: secretary of defense, leon panetta, women in combat, women in the military, women to be allowed in combat jobs, women allowed in infantry, women in combat roles, united states military, united states military to allow somen in combat, secretary of defense leon panetta, zoe bedell, aclu, american civil liberties union
