Feb. 13, 2013 - The Pentagon recently announced that women soon will be able to serve in virtually all combat roles. Subsequent reports seemed to create a flurry of confusion — were female soldiers to occupy new positions, or were they finally getting recognition for positions long occupied?
“It’s important to note that while women have been officially excluded from combat roles, they have been serving bravely in combat throughout the Iraq and Afghanistan wars,” Paul Rieckhoff, the founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said. “There are no clear front lines in these conflicts. Almost 300,000 women have served, [more than 600 have been wounded in action] and over 150 have lost their lives since 2001.” Clearly, women already occupy substantial positions in combat.
NPR noted that “the years of warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan have blurred, if not erased, the traditional notions of combat versus noncombat positions. Battle fronts are fluid, and the concept of a defined front line is virtually meaningless.” read more>>>
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