Secretary of Defense Ash Carter
announced Dec. 3 that beginning in January 2016, all military occupations and
positions will be open to women, without exception.
For the first time in U.S. military
history, as long as they qualify and meet specific standards, the secretary
said women will be able to contribute to the Defense Department mission with no
barriers at all in their way.
“They’ll be allowed to drive tanks,
fire mortars and lead infantry soldiers into combat,” Carter added. “They’ll be
able to serve as Army Rangers and Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Marine Corps
infantry, Air Force parajumpers and everything else that was previously open
only to men.”
Even more importantly, he said, the
military services will be better able to harness the skills and perspectives
that talented women have to offer.
Despite real progress in recent
decades and lately, opening more than 111,000 positions to women across the
services, Carter said that about 10 percent of military positions – nearly
220,000 total – have remained closed to women.
These included infantry, armor,
reconnaissance and some special operations units, the secretary said.
Over the past three years, he added,
senior civilian and military leaders across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine
Corps and Special Operations Command have studied the integration of women into
these positions.
“Last month I received their recommendations
and the data, studies and surveys on which they were based regarding whether
any of those remaining positions warrant a continued exemption from being
opened to women,” Carter said, noting that the Army, Navy, Air Force and SOCOM
said none of the positions warranted exemptions.
The Marine Corps asked for a partial
exemption in areas that included infantry, machine gunner, fire support
reconnaissance and others, he added, “but we are a joint force and I have
decided to make a decision which applies to the entire force.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. was the Marine Corps commandant
at the time, and Carter said that he and Dunford have discussed the issue many
times.
“I just met with him and the other
chiefs and service secretaries today, and he will be a full part of
implementation,” Carter added, noting that he believes the issues raised by the
Marine Corps can and will be addressed in implementation.
In a memorandum to the secretaries
of all military departments and others, Carter directed the military services
to open all military occupational specialties to women 30 days from Dec. 3 – a
waiting period required by law – and by that date to provide updated
implementation plans for integrating women into the positions now open to them.
Carter said Deputy Defense Secretary
Bob Work and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Paul
Selva will oversee the decision’s short-term implementation, ensure there are
no unintended consequences to the joint force, and periodically update Carter
and Dunford.
Women will be fully integrated into
combat roles deliberately and methodically, the secretary said, using seven
guidelines:
1. Implementation will be pursued
with the objective of improved force effectiveness.
2. Leaders must assign tasks and
jobs throughout the force based on ability, not gender.
3. Equal opportunity likely will not
mean equal participation by men and women in all specialties, and there will be
no quotas.
4. Studies conducted by the services
and SOCOM indicate that on average there are physical and other differences
between men and women, and implementation will take this into account.
5. The department will address the
fact that some surveys suggest that some service members, men and women, will
perceive that integration could damage combat effectiveness.
6. Particularly in the specialties
that are newly open to women, survey data and the judgment of service leaders
indicate that the performance of small teams is important.
7. The United States and some of its
closest friends and allies are committed to having militaries that include men
and women, but not all nations share this perspective.
Implementation won’t happen
overnight, Carter said.
“Fully integrating women into all
military positions will make the U.S. armed forces better and stronger but
there will be problems to fix and challenges to overcome,” he said. “We shouldn’t
diminish that.”
The military has long prided itself
on being a meritocracy, where those who serve are judged only on what they have
to offer to help defend the country, Carter said.
“That’s why we have the finest
fighting force the world has ever known,” he added, “and it’s one other way we
will strive to ensure that the force of the future remains so, long into the
future.”