It’s no surprise that women serving in the Armed Forces are taking more roles once reserved for their male counterparts. A 2005 Gallup poll indicates that Americans, particularly younger ones, favor women in combat roles. And as public opinion tends to influence public policy, winds of change are blowing through the Pentagon.
According to USA Today, there is a schedule to put women in combat roles by 2016. And the tests that determine whether a serviceman or woman is fit for combat will be gender-neutral. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel believes that such integration can be achieved while both reinforcing military-strength standards and retaining public acceptance.
The roles women play in the military are diversifying rapidly. Beginning this year, women will begin working as engineers. By next year, data collected from that experience will be applied to armor and infantry units. That’s 90,000 military jobs that were previously available only to men.
The Washington Post reports that these decisions were made following the success of women in critical roles in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rules were modified to allow women to bear arms and work in combat units there.
The ban on women in combat was lifted in January by then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. In total, nearly a quarter-million women may soon occupy new military roles that were once male only.
For now, the Pentagon is withholding judgment on putting women into Special Operations units. But the true integration of the military is a goal clearly in place, and women with the desire to serve will soon have more opportunities than ever before. We at Veteran Energy proudly salute the women of America’s Armed Forces and gratefully acknowledge their bravery and service.
