Including infantry and other dangerous front-line roles – as part of a response to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s announcement that all roles in the U.S. military would now be open to women, Corps officials told Scout Warrior.
The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps are all enthusiastically welcoming this announcement and getting ready to fully implement women who meet gender-neutral standards into all specialties in the U.S. military.
“This means that as long as they qualify and meet the standards, women will now be able to contribute to our mission in ways they could not before. They’ll be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars, and lead infantry soldiers into combat. They’ll be able to serve as Army Rangers and Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Marine Corps infantry, Air Force parajumpers, and everything else that previously was open only to men,” Carter told reporters at the Pentagon Dec. 3.
Prior to Carter’s announcement, all of the services were asked to submit a recommendation regarding how much women should be integrated into certain front-line combat positions. Unlike the other services, the Marine Corps recommended that certain units remain all male.
This recommendation, submitted by former Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford, has been overturned by Sec. Carter’s decision.
Despite his services’ prior position, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller welcomed Carter’s announcement – saying it would better help the Corps fight and win.
“As Marines, our mission is success in combat. We received the Secretary’s decision and we will immediately begin full integration of our force. As we move forward we will maintain our standards and utilize the talent of all Marines, male and female to strengthen our Corps and increase effectiveness. We have a decision. It is time to move out,” Neller said in a specially released Marine Corps video.