Military will open all combat jobs to women, Defense secretary announces

WASHINGTON — All U.S. military combat jobs, including infantry units and special operations, will be open to women beginning next year, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Thursday.

Carter said the decision was part of his commitment to build a force of the future. The ban will be lifted in 30 days, he said, and the services have until April 1 to accommodate women in all roles.

"In the 21st Century, that requires drawing strength from the broadest pool" possible, he said, adding that the Pentagon can't successfully defend the nation by eliminating half of the U.S. population from combat roles.

The decision was immediately blasted by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and a member of the Armed Services Committee as a politically motivated move that will erode the ability of the military to fight. Hunter pointed to a study done by the Marine Corps that showed that infantry units with women performed worse than all-male ones.

"No. 1, this is being done for political reasons," Hunter said. "What is it going to do to our ability to be lethal at the small-unit level? It degrades that ability."

The armed services had been given a Dec. 31 deadline to allow women into all of its units, including elite special operations ground combat position, or to request a waiver. Those exceptions had to be backed by data showing why women would not be able to accomplish the necessary tasks.

Carter acknowledged that the Marines asked for some exceptions, Carter said, "but we are a joint force."

"​There will be no exceptions," Carter said.

Carter appeared alone at the Pentagon briefing room to make the announcement. Absent was Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and who had been Marine Corps Commandant prior to his promotion. Under Dunford, the Marines had requested to keep 48,779 slots open to men only. Dunford was not at the briefing, Carter said, because the decision to open all jobs to women was his.

The Marine Corps said it would comply with the order. "The Marine Corps has received the secretary's decision and will immediately commence the process of further implementing the policy change, to include sharing plans and lessons learned with the other services," the service said in a statement. "We remain steadfast in our commitment to ensure the men and women who earn the title "Marine" will be ready to fight and win."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that Congress will use the 30 days to review the implications of the decision.

"Secretary Carter's decision to open all combat positions to women will have a consequential impact on our servicemembers and our military's warfighting capabilities," McCain said. "The Congress has an essential constitutional role to make rules for the government and regulation of our nation's armed forces."

Dakota Meyer, who earned a Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for bravery, as a Marine in Afghanistan, said he has some concerns about the Pentagon’s decision.

“In my opinion that decision was based on a political push and not a realistic thought-out study,” Meyer said.

He pointed out that women have served effectively in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the Pentagon may not have done enough research into what impact integrating women will have on all-male units, such as the infantry.

“Once again politicians aren’t listening to their counterparts in the military,” he said, referring to Carter’s decision to reject the Marine Corps’ request for a waiver.

There are 213,600 male-only jobs in the military in 52 specialties, most of them in infantry units in the Army and Marine Corps. Many fields have been opening to women in the last year, including the Army's elite Ranger school, its premier light infantry course. Three women have passed the grueling tests and have earned coveted Ranger tab.

Carter's decision comes almost three years after his predecessor Leon Panetta announced that he had lifted the two-decade ban that prevented women from most combat jobs.

Since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, more than 280,000 women have served in those combat zones out of a total of almost 2.5 million troops, Pentagon records show. In both wars, 152 women have died from combat or non-combat causes, records show, and 958 have been wounded in action.

Sen Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, saluted Carter's decision.

"Change will not happen overnight," Reed said in a statement. "It will likely take some time before women are assigned to certain combat occupations. But going forward, the combat effectiveness of our forces will increase as integrated units are able to take advantage of the very best talent available for military service, without restriction."