Women, men must meet same combat standards in military
The military will not need to lower its physical standards as it opens direct combat jobs to women, senior military officials said.
Women, men must meet same combat standards in military The military will not need to lower its physical standards as it opens direct combat jobs to women, senior military officials said. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/VlICGP
Jim Michaels and Tom Vanden Brook USA TODAY Published 2:40 p.m. ET Jan. 24, 2013 | Updated 12:21 a.m. ET Jan. 25, 2013
A female Marine does pull-ups as part of the combat endurance test in Quantico, Va.(Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)
The new rule could open 237,000 jobs to women
Women will have to meet the same physical requirements as men for the jobs
Infantry and artillery jobs have exacting physical demands
WASHINGTON — The military will not need to lower its physical standards as it opens direct combat jobs to women, senior military officials said Thursday.
However, an Army general said the standards will be reviewed for some positions.
TIMELINE: Women in the military
The new order, signed Thursday by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, will open as many as 237,000 new jobs to women. Women comprise about 14% of the 1.4 million active military personnel.
Military officials who briefed reporters on background said occupations such as infantry and artillery have exacting physical requirements and appropriate standards will be maintained. The officials declined to be named because they are not authorized to speak publicly.
The military has different physical standards based on age and sex for the Army and Marines. In either service, the standards for both sexes would be the same for those trying to get into the infantry and other combat arms specialties.
"The department's goal in rescinding the rule is to ensure that the mission is met with the best qualified and most capable people, regardless of gender," Panetta said.
"I'm not talking about reducing the qualifications for the job — if they can meet the qualifications for the job, then they should have the right to serve," he said.
That does not mean the standards may not change. Army Gen. Robert Cone said the physical standards will be studied and set and be the same for men and women.
Cone said surveys of soldiers indicate they are willing to give women a chance in their fields, provided standards are not lowered. "We assure them we don't think that will be the case," Cone said.
The military services have several years to fully implement the order, but the plan will be executed incrementally so new jobs will open as the services make them available. Any jobs that the services want to remain off-limits to women will require the Defense secretary's approval.
President Obama said allowing women to serve in combat marks another step toward the country's founding ideals of fairness and equality. He said the decision will strengthen the U.S. military.
"Today, every American can be proud that our military will grow even stronger, with our mothers, wives, sisters and daughters playing a greater role in protecting this country we love," he said.
Family Research Council Executive Vice President Jerry Boykin, a retired Army lieutenant general, said the Pentagon order is "another social experiment" that will burden military commanders unnecessarily.
"While much is made of new 'high-tech' forms of warfare, we have seen in Iraq and Afghanistan that ground combat still requires levels of sheer physical strength, speed and endurance that are relatively rare among women," Boykin said.
Pentagon policy restricting women from serving in combat on the ground was modified in 1994, according to the Congressional Research Service. Women cannot be assigned below the brigade level — a unit of about 3,500 troops — to fight on the ground.
Effectively, that has barred women from infantry, artillery, armor, combat engineers and special-operations units of battalion size.
The services will have until January 2016 to implement the changes, Panetta said. The move comes as Panetta prepares to leave office. Obama has nominated Republican former senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska to take his place.
Women in combat
U.S. Army Cpl. Kristine Tejada from 1st Platoon, Task Force 2-82 Field Artillery Regiment, provides security on Sept. 24, 2011, at the ancient Ziggurat of Ur in Iraq. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey signed an order on Jan. 24 to lift a ban on women serving in combat. Staff Sgt. Jeremy Fowler, U.S. Army
U.S. Navy Airman Tasha Pratt signals a plane on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on Jan. 6, 2002, during preparations for a combat mission over Afghanistan. Pool photo by J. Pat Carter
U.S. Army Pvt. Atiyhia Goldbold, left, and Pvt. Cherish Cooper with the 2-17 Field Artillery Regiment, provide cover for their colleagues setting up a checkpoint on Oct. 25, 2004, in Ramadi, Iraq. Patrick Baz, AFP/Getty Images
U.S. Navy Lt. Carol Watts, left, from Strike-Fighter Squadron 3-7, discusses her mission into Iraq with U.S. Navy Lt. Lyndsi Bates after returning to the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise on Dec. 17, 1998, in the Persian Gulf. Aircraft from the USS Enterprise struck Iraqi air defense radar emplacements with missiles to clear the way for coalition airstrikes. Tedrick E. Fryman III, U.S. Navy, via AP
U.S. Army Spc. Jennie Baez from the 47th Force Support Battalion keeps watch over fellow soldiers during an operation on Sept. 27, 2006, in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Cpl. Clifton D. Sams, U.S. Marine Corps
Air Force Academy cadets Sarah Thilo, left, Jena Burke and William Greeson salute the American flag during the playing of the national anthem at a ceremony on July 9, 2003, at the Air Force Academy in Colorado. Ed Andrieski, AP
An April 18, 2005, photograph shows U.S. Army soldier Juanita Wilson, who lost her left hand while serving in Iraq, at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington. Tim Dillon, USA TODAY
U.S. Air Force pilot Martha McSally, the highest ranking female fighter pilot, poses for a photograph in front of her aircraft at a military base in 1998. Kevin Kelly
A female Marine pulls herself through an obstacle course during the combat endurance test on Aug. 28 in Quantico, Va. This is the first event in the Marine Infantry Officer Course. H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY
U.S. Army soldiers with the 2-17 Field Artillery Regiment listen to a briefing as they prepare to leave on a mission on Oct. 26, 2004, in Ramadi, Iraq. Patrick Baz, AFP/Getty Images
U.S. Army soldiers from the 1st Cavalry prepare for a patrol on March 21, 2004, in the al-Jihad neighborhood in Baghdad. Karim Sahib, AFP/Getty Images
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki helps Tammy Duckworth after she was sworn in as assistant secretary on May 20, 2009, in Washington. Duckworth lost both legs while serving as an Army helicopter pilot in Iraq. In November, Duckworth became the first woman injured in combat to be elected to national office. She is a congresswoman from Illinois. H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY
U.S. Marines from Foxtrot Company, 3rd Marine Regiment, conduct a security patrol on Jan. 3, 2011, in Marjah, Helmand province, Afghanistan. Cpl. Marionne T. Mangrum, U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, left, and her friend, Pfc. Lori Piestewa, pose for a photograph before their deployment to the Middle East in 2003 at Fort Bliss, Texas. Their unit was ambushed on March 23, 2003, during an operation near Nasiriyah, Iraq. Piestewa was killed and Lynch was wounded and captured by Iraqi forces. She was later rescued by U.S. forces during a raid on an Iraqi hospital. Piestewa family photo via AP
U.S. Marine Sgt. Sheena Adams with the Female Engagement Team, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, stands guard while on patrol ion Nov. 18, 2010, in Musa Qala, Afghanistan. Paula Bronstein, Getty Images
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