National Security

Army study gives women taste of combat tasks

By Associated Press

Published February 26, 2014 5:00am ET

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Army study gives women taste of combat tasks — Spc. Karen Arvizu, left, puts on her hydration pack in preparation for her role as a volunteer in a physical demands study, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014, in Ft. Stewart, Ga. The Army is conducting a study that will determine how all soldiers, including women, for the first time, will be deemed fit to join its fighting units from infantry platoons to tank crews. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton) | Stephen B. Morton

FORT STEWART, Ga. — Standing just over 5 feet, Army Spc. Karen Arvizu is barely a foot taller than the anti-tank missile she carries in both arms and loads into an armored vehicle. She stands on her tip-toes to wrestle open the 300-pound top hatch.

“I have to step on the seat to get the missile into the launcher,” said Arvizu, a 24-year-old soldier from Los Angeles. “It’s half my body weight.”

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Associated Press Gender Issues