|
 Carter has until year's end to decide whether to agree to a Marine
Corps request that it be partially exempt from a January 2013
Department of Defense directive that military services allow women
to compete for virtually all jobs, including the toughest and most
dangerous roles on the frontlines of wars.
The services' recommendations, due by Oct. 1, were not made public,
but a U.S. official confirmed that the Marine Corps had requested to
keep some combat jobs open only to men. Officials from the other
services - the Army, Navy, and Air Force - have hinted that they
will not seek exemptions.
The decision could force Carter to choose between the views of his
own top military adviser and advocates who say there should be
clear, gender-neutral standards for combat roles that anyone can try
to meet.
Gen. Joseph Dunford, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
recommended the Marine Corps exemption earlier in September, when he
was still the service's commandant. In his new post, Dunford will
have to approve any exceptions barring women from combat roles.
 The stakes are high: some argue that including women in combat roles
such as the infantry could upend, at least temporarily, the Marines'
strong fighting culture.
"You have a cultural formula there that works. You've got Coca-Cola
classic," said Elliot Ackerman, a writer and Marine Corps veteran
who said he does not consider himself an advocate for either side.
"If you add ingredients into that...it will not be the same
formula...it will unequivocally change the culture."
If he agrees, Carter risks alienating those who say the time for
equal treatment is long overdue. Opening ground combat jobs to women
would strengthen the military, they argue, by ensuring the broadest
possible pool of candidates.
"Certainly it's one of the last ways that women are treated
differently in our law," said Elizabeth Gill, an attorney at the
American Civil Liberties Union. "To have the door closed totally
based on gender is unique in the federal government."
Carter - who has hinted he favors minimal, if any, exceptions - said
Wednesday that he would "carefully review" reports from all four
services and the Special Operations Command.
"Everyone who is able and willing to serve and can meet the
standards we require should have the full opportunity to do so," he
told a news briefing. "I am going to be very facts-based and
analysis-based. I want to see the grounds upon which any actions
that we take at the first of the year are going to be made."
Since 2013, about 111,000 military jobs have opened to women, mostly
in the Army. About 220,000 jobs still remain closed, said Matthew
Allen, a Department of Defense spokesman.
[to top of second column] |
The greatest resistance has come from the Marines, an elite force
that prides itself on its ability to react quickly and conduct
frontline assaults.
It is the only service branch that has gender-segregated basic
training. Just seven percent of Marines are women, compared with
about 15 percent across the military.
As of March 2015, 25 percent of Marine Corps positions remain closed
to women, compared with 18 percent of Army positions, two percent of
Navy positions, and one percent of Air Force positions, according to
a July GAO report.
Differences between military and civilian leaders on this issue have
played out unusually publicly. After the Marine Corps released a
summary of a study this month that found mixed-gender units
performed worse in replications of ground combat than all-male ones,
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who is in charge of the Marines, said he
thought the study was flawed.
"That sort of public disagreement between a service chief and a
service secretary, they happen but they're rare," said Captain Lory
Manning, a Navy veteran and fellow at the Women's Research and
Education Initiative, who favors allowing women in combat roles.
Even as more positions open to women, the gender make-up of the
military leadership – drawn largely from those who have served in
combat – will barely budge in the coming decades.
That is because it can take 25 to 30 years to reach the highest
ranks, said Vice Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michelle Howard,
speaking at a think tank event in Washington last week.
(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Warren Strobel and
Ken Wills)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
