Bringing a week of history-making moments to a close is yet another landmark decision made this time by our US military.
It was announced on Thursday that the Pentagon has decided to remove the military’s ban on women serving in combat. This decision ends a ruling made over ten years ago by armed forces to keep women from from serving in front-line and potentially elite commando positions. It will open up the opportunity for them to take on hundreds of thousands of new jobs.
The military seeks to formulate a plan that allows women to obtain combat positions, and they might be available as soon as mid 2013. Just a year ago, the Pentagon opened up thousands of combat positions to women in the Army. In the coming months, those opportunities will extend to Army and Marine infantry units. The necessities of war have increased over time and as a result, women have been propelled into jobs like medics, military police, and intelligence officers. In the past, women were not formally assigned to the front line. That fact is soon to change.
Women’s roles in the military have grown tremendously over the past few years, with them now making up a significant portion of active personnel. This latest action extends further opportunities to them that they were once denied. It is a firm step toward equality; yet, does that make it a good thing?
Another important question as related to this recent decision is whether or not there are some aspects of life that must be reserved for a man. Yet, it is arguable that women have proven they can take on the harshest elements of war. If that is the case, the Pentagon’s latest move will simply make official what work has already been taking place off the books.
2013, a year already full of historic relevance, is sure to ring heavy with monumental firsts. This is just the beginning of much more to come.
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