Previously, women were barred from serving the 220,000 jobs, including infantry, armor, reconnaissance and some special operations units, reports CNN.
“This means that as long as they qualify and meet the standards, women will now be able to contribute to our mission in ways they could not before. They’ll be able to drive tanks, give orders, lead infantry soldiers into combat,” Carter said at a news conference Thursday. “There will be no exceptions.”
However, Carter said men and women have “physical differences on average” and “thus far, we’ve only seen small numbers of women qualify to meet our high physical standards” for some units.
The policy will take effect after 30 days and extends to all branches of military, including the Marine Corps, which “had sought exceptions to keep positions such as infantry, machine gunner, fire support and reconnaissance to men,” according to CNN.
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Article Appeared @http://uptownmagazine.com/2015/12/women-will-be-allowed-to-fill-combat-positions-in-military/