Thursday, January 24, 2013

The United States is set to remove restrictions preventing women from serving in front-line combat roles in the military thanks to a change in policy led by defense secretary Leon Panetta and announced yesterday.

The move would open up as many as 230,000 jobs in the US military to women, who have already served in non frontline-combat work in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of the military’s 1.4 million currently active personnel, 14% are female. Over 20,000 women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, about 130 killed in service there, and over 800 wounded.

Military rules currently prevent women from taking roles involving direct ground combat, roles that require berthing alongside men, long-range reconnaissance tasks, membership in special operations forces like the Navy SEALs, and tasks deemed physically demanding.