Carter opens all military jobs to women

“To succeed in our mission of national defense, we cannot afford to cut ourselves off from half the country’s talent and skills,” he told reporters. “Today I’m announcing my decision not to make continued exceptions, that is to proceed to opening all of the remaining occupations and positions to women. There will be no exceptions.

“They’ll be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars and lead infantry soldiers into combat,” he said. “They’ll be able to serve as Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, Marine Corps infantry, Air Force parajumpers and everything else that previously were open only to men.”

Carter’s decision marks the culmination of a years-long review process that began in 2013, when former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced he would lift the ban on women serving in combat unless services could demonstrate why a role should remain male-only.

About 10 percent of the military, or 220,000 positions, are closed to women in the infantry, armor, reconnaissance and special operations communities. Services will open these positions to women between Jan. 2 and April 1 following an approved plan, due to Carter by Jan. 1.

“It’s about damn time,” said Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., and a former military pilot. “I couldn’t be prouder today of all the women warriors out there who have shown they have what it takes to be the best and serve with the best.”

Carter received recommendations in September from service secretaries and other top military officials made after lengthy studies of what standards should be for each job.

Leaders of the Army, Air Force, Navy and special operations community all asked for no exceptions, Carter said. The Marines asked to keep infantry, machine gunner, fire support, reconnaissance and others closed to women, but Carter did not grant the request, saying the military is a “joint force.”

One of the biggest influences on Carter’s decision, he said, was a desire to be able to recruit the best people to the military from the broadest population.

A Marine Corps report leaked this year found that mixed-gender teams performed worse than male-only teams in every aspect during a nine-month study. But Carter said he is sure many of the issues raised by the Marines can be solved during implementation.

“How we implement this is key,” he said.

Carter said the services will work together on their implementation plan. He stressed that leadership must work to change perception among some members of the military that integration will hurt mission-effectiveness.

There will be no quotas for how many women must serve in these combat positions, the secretary said. In tests, the services have seen a small number of women who are both interested in serving in combat positions and can meet the standards required.

Reporters took note that Dunford wasn’t present at the briefing and pressed Carter on the significance.

“General Dunford and I have discussed this many 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 said. “I came to a different judgment about a part of the conclusions of the studies that were conducted by the Marine Corps when he was commandant, but agreed with the great bulk of them and they will be reflected in impleentation. The issues that were raised by the study, I believe, can be addressed in implementation and will be.

“He understands what my decision is,” he added. “And my decision is my decision.”

There’s still much up in the air about how this sweeping change will affect the military, including whether women will have to sign up for the draft. Carter acknowledged that it “may” change the requirements for selective service, but declined to comment on what the outcome may be.

Leaders on Capitol Hill said they would be carefully reviewing the thousands of pages of studies and documents that went into the decision during a mandatory 30-day review period, including how it may affect the draft.

“We also look forward to receiving the department’s views on any changes to the Selective Service Act that may be required as a result of this decision,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said in a joint statement.

Over the course of the review process, more than 111,000 jobs were already opened to women.

This year, the Army’s elite Ranger School allowed women to attend for the first time. Two women in the first mixed-gender class went on to complete the course, earning the right to wear the Ranger tab, though they couldn’t serve in the Ranger regiment.

Carter’s decision on Thursday will change that, though those women would still have to meet the requirements to join the Ranger regiment. Many men graduate from Ranger school, but never serve in the elite special operations unit.

A third woman who began in that same class also earned her Ranger tab, but graduated with a later class. The Army also previously announced that all future classes of Ranger School would be open to women.

The process of looking at job standards and deciding which jobs to keep closed has been filled with controversy. Critics argued that the military was lowering standards to enable women to succeed. But in the case of Ranger School, one instructor took to Facebook to push back against those reports, defending the women’s performance and saying that it’s impossible to change some people’s opinions regardless of fact.

There were also some tensions between the services over which, if any, jobs would remain closed. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said earlier this year that he would not seek any exemptions for the Navy or Marine Corps, despite objections from the Marine Corps after a nine-month study found men outperformed women in infantry tasks.

Analysts have said that allowing women to serve in all facets of the military will open up senior leadership positions that have previously only been accessible to those who served in combat.