In the most sweeping personnel reform since the military ended segregation, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced Thursday that all military occupational specialties will be opened to qualified women without exception.
“To succeed in our mission of national defense, we cannot afford to cut ourselves off from half the country’s talents and skills,” Carter said during a press conference at the Pentagon. “We have to take full advantage of every individual who can meet our standards.”
A total 111,000 positions were open to women prior to Carter’s announcement, leaving another 220,000 specialties off limits.
Even as doors slowly opened, women were still barred from serving in infantry, armor, reconnaissance and special operations units until the Nov. 3 announcement. As long as they can meet the established and unaltered requirements for service in those units, women will now be able to do so.
In 2013 then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta decided all positions, including combat jobs, should be open to qualified personnel, regardless of gender, by 2016. Panetta also gave the service chiefs and the commander of Special Operations Command the opportunity to gather data on the impact of mixed-gender units and to register any concerns about specific occupations they felt should remain off limits to female troops.
“I reviewed these inputs carefully and today I am announcing not to make continued exceptions, that is to proceed with opening all these remaining occupations and positions to women,” he said. “There will be no exceptions.
“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 will be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars, lead infantry soldiers into combat. They will be allowed to serve as Army Rangers, Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Marine Corps infantry, Air Force parajumpers and everything else that was previously open only to men.”
Carter received the chiefs’ reports on gender integration about a month ago and only former Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, citing a service-conducted study that mixed-gender units were less combat effective than all-male units, recommended specific exemptions. Carter overruled Dunford, who is now chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dunford was not present at Thursday’s press conference.
The secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force, the chiefs of staff of the Army and Air Force, the chief of naval operations and the SOCOM chief recommended making the change without exception.
“While the Marine Corps asked for a partial exception in some areas such as infantry, machinegunner, fire support, reconnaissance and others, we are a joint force and I have decided to make a decision which applies to the entire force,” Carter said.
Thousands of women have served in uniform over the past 14 years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, where many were wounded or killed while being formally excluded from serving in combat units. Women have been allowed to attend military academies since 1975 and have served at every echelon of every service. Two women in 2015 graduated from the Army’s grueling Ranger School, earning the privilege of wearing the Ranger Tab on their uniforms but not of serving in a Ranger unit. Women are serving on Navy submarines.
Praise for Carter’s decision flooded in from members of Congress Thursday afternoon, including U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), a retired Air Force colonel, who said “it’s about damn time.”
“Today’s historic announcement finally recognizes that our military is strongest when it prioritizes merit and capability, not gender” said McSally, who served 26 years in uniform and was the first woman to fly in combat and to command a fighter squadron. “Women have been fighting and dying for our country since its earliest wars. They have shown they can compete with the best of the best, and succeed. We are a country that looks at people as individuals, not groups. We select the best man for the job, even if it’s a woman. I couldn’t be prouder today of all the women warriors out there who have shown they have what it takes to be the best and serve with the best. I’ll continue to work with my colleagues to oversee the integration process and ensure our force’s readiness with our most capable men and women.”
The chairmen of the House and Senate armed services committees, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), were less enthusiastic, issuing a statement that it was their duty to use the 30-day period before integration begins to assess the implications of allowing women to serve in combat.
“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 and Thornberry said in a joint statement. “The Congress has an essential Constitutional role to make rules for the government and regulation of our nation’s armed forces. The Senate and House Armed Services Committees intend to carefully and thoroughly review all relevant documentation related to today’s decision, including the 1,000-page Marine Integrated Task Force report. We expect the Department to send over its implementation plans as quickly as possible to ensure our Committees have all the information necessary to conduct proper and rigorous oversight. We also look forward to receiving the Department’s views on any changes to the Selective Service Act that may be required as a result of this decision.”