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Pentagon Will Open All Combat Roles to Women
http://www.nytimes.com ^ | December 3, 2015 | MATTHEW ROSENBERG and DAVE PHILIPPS

Posted on 12/03/2015 10:16:18 AM PST by NKP_Vet

In a historic change for the American military, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter on Thursday announced that the Pentagon will open all combat jobs to women.

"There will be no exceptions," Mr. Carter said at a Pentagon news conference.

The groundbreaking decision overturns a 1994 Pentagon rule that restricts women from artillery, armor, infantry and other such combat roles, even though in reality women often found themselves in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr. Carter said that, after a three-year review, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Operations Command agreed that all combat positions should be open to qualified women.

Only the Marine Corps, he said, requested some exemptions.

But Mr. Carter said he overruled the Marines to open all combat positions to women because the military should operate under a common set of standards. The Marine Corps has long held concerns that integrating women into combat units could erode morale in all-male platoons and lead to increased sexual tension that would undermine fighting capability. But a Marine Corps study made public by a women's advocacy group this week found that after months of testing mixed-gender combat units, troops reported morale equal to that of all-male groups and higher than noncombat integrated groups.

In addition, the study found sexual assault levels no higher than in the Marines as a whole.

Nancy Duff Campbell, co-president of the National Women's Law Center, praised the announcement.

"It's a thrilling day for women serving in the military -- and for women across the country," she said. "We applaud today's announcement that knocks down the last remaining official barrier to women's military service and ensures the full integration of women into all military jobs, positions and units."

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; Politics/Elections
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To: NKP_Vet

Great. I can see the NYT headline when the first female combat soldier gets gang raped by some ISIS fanatic — “The Rape Crisis — Violence Against Female Soldiers Caused by GOP Budget Cuts to Pentagon Diversity Outreach Program.”


21 posted on 12/03/2015 10:38:21 AM PST by Opinionated Blowhard ("When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.")
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To: NKP_Vet

Nothing says, “Storming the beaches of Normandy” better than a 130 lb women loaded with 80 lbs of gear floundering in the surf. Sad.


22 posted on 12/03/2015 10:39:44 AM PST by oncebitten
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To: NKP_Vet
"Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter on Thursday announced that the Pentagon will open all combat jobs to women.

Oh yeah, that's going to work real well.
Has the military bought into the common Hollywood/TV show myth of 110lb girls karate chopping/kicking 220lb men into the ground? Yeah, looks like they have. How many of these female "warriors" are really going to fight? I suspect they'll fall to pieces and start crying after they hear the first bullet whiz by.

23 posted on 12/03/2015 10:39:50 AM PST by StormEye
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To: ryan71

The story of King David and Uriah comes to mind.

The ‘wrong sort’ of men will, of course, be dead. The ‘right sort’ will man supply depots stateside.


24 posted on 12/03/2015 10:39:50 AM PST by Black Agnes
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To: NKP_Vet

The goal is to remove the military from the military.


25 posted on 12/03/2015 10:40:07 AM PST by servo1969
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To: NKP_Vet
Mr. Carter said that, after a three-year review, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Operations Command agreed that all combat positions should be open to qualified women.

You mean, after die Oberste Fuhrer ordered his General-Feldmarschall to implement Gleichschaltung, all lower levels of rank found no reason to object.

26 posted on 12/03/2015 10:40:21 AM PST by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: RummyChick

The prisoner issue is issue number one.

Is the public prepared to have female prisoners raped and tortured?

It is clear that our politicians are good with it.


27 posted on 12/03/2015 10:41:51 AM PST by cgbg (Epistemology is not a spectator sport.)
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To: NKP_Vet

While everyone is distracted by yet another terrorist attack in the US, this time in San Bernardino, Obama makes his move.


28 posted on 12/03/2015 10:42:05 AM PST by kingu (Everything starts with slashing the size and scope of the federal government.)
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To: olepap

I heard a woman is equivalent to 13 year old in physical prowess concerning combat.


29 posted on 12/03/2015 10:43:38 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: oncebitten

My Grandfather was a combat engineer that went ashore on Omaha Beach on D-Day in the first amphibious assault wave. He’s been gone nearly 6 years and I miss him dearly, though I’m glad he’s not around to hear of this.


30 posted on 12/03/2015 10:43:52 AM PST by mrmeyer (You can't conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him. � Robert Heinlein)
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To: NKP_Vet

This is a colossal mistake. Offering up young women as cannon fodder is not the best way to assure a country’s future.


31 posted on 12/03/2015 10:46:30 AM PST by lastchance (Credo.)
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To: MSF BU

Or how soon before women make the USMA Football team? How low can they go?


32 posted on 12/03/2015 10:46:40 AM PST by onedoug
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To: NKP_Vet

And yet the Army still has a separate and much easier physical fitness test for women...


33 posted on 12/03/2015 10:48:58 AM PST by 2banana (rrian Army which was)
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To: NKP_Vet
... which should render the Selective Service Act unconstitutional. Rather than expand it, eliminate it.
34 posted on 12/03/2015 10:49:13 AM PST by NonValueAdded (In a Time of Universal Deceit, Telling the Truth Is a Revolutionary Act)
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To: servo1969
The goal is to remove the military from the military.

Put another way, our general officers are Courtney Massengales, but we need Sam Damons.

Reference to "Once an Eagle", a novel used in the curriculum at the Army War College. It summed up my basic problem as a brash young lieutenant, and later Captain: my thinking was usually ten years ahead of my superiors, and ended a promising military career prematurely...lmao.

Good thing I never planned on a career in the Army. Eight years was enough for me...loved every day except for the last 4-5 months.

35 posted on 12/03/2015 10:51:04 AM PST by Night Hides Not (Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad! Remember Mississippi! My vote is going to Cruz.)
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To: Pollster1

Let the gals have their own squads, teams, battalions, etc. Just think of the cute names, like “Seal Team V”, home of the split tails.


36 posted on 12/03/2015 10:51:04 AM PST by biff
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To: cgbg
It isn't just the civilian politicians either. The secretaries of the Navy, Army and Air Force and the commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command all recommended opening all positions to women. Only the commandant of the Marine Corps at the time Dunford recommended keeping some positions closed to women, including infantry and reconnaissance positions. All I can say is, I'm glad that I'm out. I have seen what happens when you have one or two females around an infantry company. Young soldiers change, and mostly in a negative way. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds. I believe it to be a mistake.
37 posted on 12/03/2015 10:51:31 AM PST by corlorde
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To: CivilWarBrewing

When women start playing in men’s professional sports, as in NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL, they MIGHT be ready for the Special Forces, which has harder requirements than any sports team.


38 posted on 12/03/2015 10:51:52 AM PST by NKP_Vet (In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle,stand like a rock ~ T, Jefferson)
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To: NKP_Vet
Men can survive in an enervating combat zone day after day month after month year after year. Women could last a day.

Read history about the Civil War and forced marches in July in Virginia.

39 posted on 12/03/2015 10:52:07 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: NKP_Vet

We are so going to get our ass kicked next time we fight a real war.


40 posted on 12/03/2015 10:53:40 AM PST by Kozak (ALLAH AKBAR = HEIL HITLER)
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