By Cheryl Pellerin DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, December 3, 2015 — Defense Secretary Ash Carter
announced today that beginning in January 2016, all military occupations and
positions will be open to women, without exception.
For the first time in U.S. military history, as long as they
qualify and meet specific standards, the secretary said women will be able to
contribute to the Defense Department mission with no barriers at all in their
way.
“They’ll be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars and lead
infantry soldiers into combat," Carter added. "They’ll be able to
serve as Army Rangers and Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Marine Corps infantry, Air
Force parajumpers, and everything else that was previously open only to
men."
Harnessing Women’s Skills, Perspectives
Even more importantly, he said, the military services will
be better able to harness the skills and perspectives that talented women have
to offer.
Though more than 111,000 positions had opened to women in
uniform since 2013 until today's announcement, Carter said, about 10 percent of
military positions -- nearly 220,000 -- had remained closed to women. These
included infantry, armor, reconnaissance, and some special operations units,
the secretary said.
Over the past three years, he added, senior civilian and
military leaders across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Special
Operations Command have studied the integration of women into these positions.
“Last month I received their recommendations [and] the data,
studies and surveys on which they were based regarding whether any of those
remaining positions warrant a continued exemption from being opened to women,”
Carter said, noting that the Army, Navy, Air Force and Socom said none of the
positions warranted exemptions.
The Marine Corps asked for a partial exemption in areas that
included infantry, machine gunner, fire support reconnaissance and others, he
added, “[but] we are a joint force and I have decided to make a decision which
applies to the entire force.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Corps Gen.
Joseph F. Dunford Jr. was the Marine Corps commandant at the time, and Carter
said that he and Dunford have discussed the issue 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
added, noting that he believes the issues raised by the Marine Corps can and
will be addressed in implementation.
Departmental Memorandum
In a memorandum to the secretaries of all military
departments and others, Carter directed the military services to open all
military occupational specialties to women 30 days from today -- a waiting
period required by law -- and by that date to provide updated implementation
plans for integrating women into the positions now open to them.
Carter said Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work and Vice
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Paul Selva will oversee
the decision’s short-term implementation, ensure there are no unintended
consequences to the joint force, and periodically update Carter and Dunford.
Women will be fully integrated into combat roles
deliberately and methodically, the secretary said, using seven guidelines.
Seven Guidelines
1. Implementation will be pursued with the objective of
improved force effectiveness.
2. Leaders must assign tasks and jobs throughout the force
based on ability, not gender.
3. Equal opportunity likely will not mean equal
participation by men and women in all specialties, and there will be no quotas.
4. Studies conducted by the services and Socom indicate that
on average there are physical and other differences between men and women, and
implementation will take this into account.
5. The department will address the fact that some surveys
suggest that some service members, men and women, will perceive that
integration could damage combat effectiveness.
6. Particularly in the specialties that are newly open to
women, survey data and the judgment of service leaders indicate that the
performance of small teams is important.
7. The United States and some of its closest friends and
allies are committed to having militaries that include men and women, but not
all nations share this perspective.
Integrating Women in all Military Jobs
Implementation won't happen overnight, Carter said.
“Fully integrating women into all military positions will
make the U.S. armed forces better and stronger but there will be problems to
fix and challenges to overcome,” he said. “We shouldn't diminish that.”
The military has long prided itself on being a meritocracy,
where those who serve are judged only on what they have to offer to help defend
the country, Carter said.
“That’s why we have the finest fighting force the world has
ever known,” he added, “and it’s one other way we will strive to ensure that
the force of the future remains so, long into the future.”