الرئيسية
The US military opened up some dangerous jobs to female
troops but stopped short of repealing a ban on women serving in combat,
despite a decade of war where women fought and died on the battlefield.
The
Pentagon announced incremental changes that will allow women to serve
in more than 14,000 jobs, mostly in the Army and Marine Corps, that had
previously been closed to female service members.
But the
Pentagon's overall prohibition against women in ground combat will
remain, denying female troops the chance to join infantry and armor
units as well as special forces.
The Pentagon said the changes
would be reviewed within months and likely clear the way for opening
more doors to women in the future.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta
"believes that this is the beginning, not the end of a process," his
spokesman George Little told a news conference.
"The services will
continue to review positions and requirements to determine what
additional positions may be open to women," he said.
Some
activists and senior officers have urged a more dramatic change to
reflect the reality of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where a lack of
clearly defined front lines placed women in the middle of the fight.
Since
2001, about 280,000 American women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan,
about 12 percent of all troops who deployed, with 144 female troops
killed in the wars, including 79 in combat, according to the Pentagon.
"It's
a baby step," said Donna McAleer, a graduate of the military academy at
West Point and author who has called for repealing the combat ban.
troops but stopped short of repealing a ban on women serving in combat,
despite a decade of war where women fought and died on the battlefield.
The
Pentagon announced incremental changes that will allow women to serve
in more than 14,000 jobs, mostly in the Army and Marine Corps, that had
previously been closed to female service members.
But the
Pentagon's overall prohibition against women in ground combat will
remain, denying female troops the chance to join infantry and armor
units as well as special forces.
The Pentagon said the changes
would be reviewed within months and likely clear the way for opening
more doors to women in the future.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta
"believes that this is the beginning, not the end of a process," his
spokesman George Little told a news conference.
"The services will
continue to review positions and requirements to determine what
additional positions may be open to women," he said.
Some
activists and senior officers have urged a more dramatic change to
reflect the reality of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where a lack of
clearly defined front lines placed women in the middle of the fight.
Since
2001, about 280,000 American women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan,
about 12 percent of all troops who deployed, with 144 female troops
killed in the wars, including 79 in combat, according to the Pentagon.
"It's
a baby step," said Donna McAleer, a graduate of the military academy at
West Point and author who has called for repealing the combat ban.