Pentagon chief to military: Open all combat jobs to women

WASHINGTON -- After three years of study and debate, Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered the military Thursday to open all military jobs to women, removing the final barriers that kept women from serving in combat, including the most dangerous and grueling commando posts.

His landmark decision rebuffed requests by the Marine Corps to exclude women from certain infantry and combat jobs and signaled a formal recognition thousands of women served, and many were wounded or killed, in the last 14 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We are a joint force, and I have decided to make a decision which applies to the entire force," Carter told a news conference.

But he acknowledged some concerns.

"Implementation won't happen overnight. And while at the end of the day, this will make us a better and stronger force, there still will be problems to fix and challenges to overcome. We shouldn't diminish that."

Carter said the military no longer can afford to exclude half the population from high-risk military posts.

He said any man or woman who meets the standards should be able to serve, and he gave the armed services 30 days to submit plans to make the historic change.

Carter's order opens the final 10 percent of military positions to women -- a total of about 220,000 jobs. And it allows them to serve in the most demanding and difficult jobs, including as special operations forces, such as the Army Delta units and Navy SEALs.

U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., one of the first Army women to fly combat missions in the 2003-2011 Iraq war, welcomed the decision.

"I didn't lose my legs in a bar fight -- of course women can serve in combat," said Duckworth, whose helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. "This decision is long overdue."

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona and head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Congress will review the data and the decision.

Over the past few years, women steadily have moved into many jobs previously open only to men, including on Navy submarines, in Army artillery units and as Night Stalkers, the elite special-operations helicopter crews best known for flying the Navy SEALS into Osama bin Laden's compound in 2011.

Three women became the first to take and pass the Army's difficult Ranger course.

The military services forwarded their recommendations to Carter earlier this fall.

The Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Operations Command all said they would not seek any exceptions and would recommend removing the ban on women in dangerous combat jobs.

Only the Marine Corps sought to keep some jobs closed.