Military Beginning to Recruit Women for Combat Jobs
(WASHINGTON) — The military services are already beginning to recruit women for combat jobs, including as Navy SEALs, and could see them serving in previously male-only Army and Marine Corps infantry units by this fall, according to new plans endorsed by Defense Secretary Ash Carter and obtained by The Associated Press.Some of the services predict that only small numbers of women will volunteer or get through training courses, details of the plans show. The Marine Corps estimates 200 women a year will move into ground combat jobs. And U.S. Special Operations Command said it anticipates a “small number” of volunteers for its commando jobs.
The Navy said it is already collecting submission packages from prospective SEAL candidates and could see women in entry-level enlisted and officer training in September and October. The Navy started collecting the packages last month.
All of the services say they have made required changes to base bathrooms and other facilities to accommodate women, and they will monitor training, injury assessments, and possible sexual harassment or assault problems.
The plans have been under review by senior Pentagon leaders and have not been made public.
Carter said Thursday that he accepted the services’ implementation recommendations, but provided no details. He is expected to sign a memo in the coming days telling the military to begin executing the plans next month.
The top Army and Marine Corps generals told senators last month that it will take up to three years to fully integrate women into all combat jobs. And they have insisted they will not lower standards for the combat posts or bow to pressure or quotas to get more women into the grueling frontline jobs.
After a lengthy review by the services and the Pentagon, Carter in December ordered all combat jobs open to women. The Marine Corps initially sought to keep certain infantry and combat jobs closed, citing studies showing combined-gender units are not as effective as male-only units. But Carter and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus rejected that proposal.
Since then, the military services have put together plans outlining exactly how they will incorporate women into the male-only units.
The Marine Corps said that having about 200 women moving into combat jobs each year would mean that they would make up less than 2 percent of the Marines in those occupations. The Corps would use what it called a “teaming concept” that would try to assign two or more junior enlisted women to the same unit.
The plan notes that so far no women have made it through the Marine infantry officer course, and added that, “we recognize there may be small numbers, and the Services are prepared to handle this.”
Last year several hundred female Marines participated in a task force studying the impact of allowing women to compete for combat jobs. The enlisted women who were in the program are eligible to transfer immediately into combat jobs since they already completed the training. Although some have expressed interest in the jobs, none have formally requested a transfer.
The Army intends to first assign female officers to jobs in the infantry and armor units, and then gradually bring in female enlisted soldiers. And it plans to also assign more than one woman in a unit.
The first officers will start training in June, and could graduate in October. The first female enlisted soldiers wouldn’t begin moving into ground combat units until May 2017.
Unlike the Army and Marine Corps, the Air Force said it will not assign women in groups to units, and will instead follow routine assignment procedures.
The bulk of the male-only units are in the Army and Marine Corps. Only a few of the Navy and Air Force units excluded women, and those were largely special operations-related jobs and assignments on ships that do not have adequate berthing to accommodate women.
The military services said they plan to carefully evaluate recruits, including new types of testing that helps predict whether the person — either man or woman — has the ability to meet the difficult physical demands of the combat jobs. The services plan to conduct regular review and collect injury data that will help guide training and other changes that might be needed.
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Questions To Consider:
Do you think it's right or fair that women can now serve in military combat?
What might be some of the challenges women face now that they are allowed to be alongside men in combat?
What do you think of the part that says, "The plan notes that so far no women have made it through the Marine infantry officer course, and added that, “we recognize there may be small numbers, and the Services are prepared to handle this.”?
I feel like the people that didn't want woman to be in the military is really dumb because the woman can do everything that men can do. I feel like the military people should just give woman a chance to show the men what they can do and to show men that there is no harm to what woman want.
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ReplyDeleteI think that it ok for woman to be in the military. The woman want to show what they can do for the USA. People should see that woman have the right to do this because man woman should work together to stop any thing that may happen. the test there doing for woman may be hard but they have the right to what ever they want.
ReplyDeleteI feel its fair that women can now serve in the military, because we live in a world where people just think of women as objects that are made to stay home make food clean and have fun with. But i feel this will bring a bigger output for women everywhere cause now they could help serve their country and feel like yeah im a women sure i may cook and clean but guess what im a independent women that fights for her country.
ReplyDeleteI think it's fair for women to be in the military because they can be train and have a good job. I have a lot of friend on Facebook that is in the military of training to be one. I think what ever man can do females can do it too because man and females are both equal. For example, Police, FBI and military. The female marines faces on their jobs because it's combat jobs which it's about fighting. I think the part when it says "The plan notes that so far no women have made it through the Marine infantry officer course, and added that, “we recognize there may be small numbers, and the Services are prepared to handle this.” I think this means that in the military is that women can't made it through the Marine infantry officer course but they did it because if your parent is a military than you know how it is. If you parent is not a marine than it's hard but I know females and males in this earth are equal too.
ReplyDeletesome of the challenges women will face now that they are allowed to be along side of men during combat is that they could be severely hurt and they might slowdown the men during combat. I think that it would be safeter if they stay home taking care of the kids and doing house chores instead of going into combat and getting hurt or die and making their family worried.
ReplyDeleteI feel it is fair that women can perform in the military because most women are more advanced then others. Women that feel like they could do the combat jobs that men are doing should have the chance to do it. Women should have the choice to fight for there country as same as men , there could be women that can do more then men could in this world. Everybody has there own body , some people have the ability to do more then others whether they are feminine or masculine.
ReplyDeleteIt's fair for the military to recruit women because in the U.S there's most of the females rather are more advanced than males or there's females that could most things that males can do. Females that could capable to do combat jobs that males do in the military could or could not do it, but the military should give them a chance. There's females out there that will love to fight for there countries.One challenges that the females will have is the jobs that have to do with strength.
ReplyDeleteIt's fair for the military to recruit women because in the U.S there's most of the females rather are more advanced than males or there's females that could most things that males can do. Females that could capable to do combat jobs that males do in the military could or could not do it, but the military should give them a chance. There's females out there that will love to fight for there countries.One challenges that the females will have is the jobs that have to do with strength.
ReplyDeleteI think that its fair now how female can be in military combat because as women we always had to fight for equal right like we had to fight to vote because back then we couldn't vote. I think its just apart of history that we make changes and now that we could go to war and be in the field to fight with the men
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