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U.S. NEWSFriday 4 December 2015
Defense chief to US military: open all combat jobs to women
LOLITA C. BALDOR Defense Secretary Ash Carter gestures during a news conference at the Pentagon, Thursday, participation in some spe-
Associated Press Dec. 3, 2015, to announce that he has ordered the military to open all combat jobs to women, cialty jobs. But he added
WASHINGTON (AP) — De- and is giving the armed services until Jan. 1 to submit plans to make the historic change. that combat effectiveness
fense Secretary Ash Cart- is still the main goal, and
er announced Thursday (AP Photo/Cliff Owen) there will be no quotas for
he is ordering the U.S. mili- women in any posts.
tary to open all combat Dunford, former Marine but he said the integration he has discussed his deci- The decision comes after
jobs to women, rebuffing Corps commandant, had of women into the com- sion multiple times with the several years of study, and
requests by the Marine argued that the Marines bat jobs will be deliberate chairman. will wipe away genera-
Corps to exclude wom- should be allowed to keep and methodical and will While noting that, on av- tions of limits on how and
en from certain front-line women out of certain address the Marine Corps erage, men and women where women can fight
combat jobs. front-line combat jobs, cit- concerns. have different physical for their country.
Declaring that “we are a ing studies showing that Dunford did not attend abilities, Carter said the Only the Marine Corps
joint force,” Carter said mixed-gender units aren’t the news conference to services must assign tasks sought any exceptions in
that while moving women as capable as all-male announce the change, and jobs based on abil- removing the long-held
into these jobs will present units. Carter said he came and when asked about ity, rather than on gender. ban on allowing women
challenges, the military to a different conclusion, that absence, Carter said He said that would likely to serve in dangerous
can no longer afford to ex- result in smaller numbers combat jobs. The Army,
clude half of the popula- of women in some jobs. Navy and Air Force have
tion from grueling military Equal opportunity, he moved steadily toward al-
jobs. He said that any man said, will not mean equal lowing women to serve in
or woman who meets the all posts, and only the most
standards should be able risky jobs remain closed.
to serve, and he gave the A senior defense official
armed services 30 days to said the services will have
submit plans to make the to begin putting plans in
historic change. place by April 1.
Carter’s order opens the Carter has hinted at this
final 10 percent of military decision for months, tell-
positions to women, and ing U.S. troops in Sicily in
allows them to serve in the October that limiting his
military’s most demanding search for qualified mili-
and difficult jobs, including tary candidates to just half
as special operations forc- the population would be
es, such as the Army Delta “crazy.”
units and Navy SEALs. He had given Dunford un-
The Joint Chiefs of Staff til the end of October to
chairman, Gen. Joseph forward his review of the
services’ recommenda-
tions on which jobs, if any,
should remain closed to
women.q
AP: Police tear down camp to
protest shooting of black man
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Of- with police a day earlier.
ficers using bulldozers and The Black Lives Movement
other heavy machinery emerged nationwide in
tore down an encamp- response to several police
ment early Thursday out- killings of African-Ameri-
side a Minneapolis police cans.
precinct where demon- Eight people were arrested
strators have gathered for during the eviction, Police
more than two weeks to Chief Janee Harteau said
protest the fatal shooting at a news conference.
of a black man by police. Seven of them were arrest-
Officers told about 50 ed for obstructing the legal
chanting demonstrators process and one person
camped outside the pre- was arrested for trespass-
cinct to disperse about 4 ing, she said.
a.m. and began removing After tents were removed,
tents about 15 minutes lat- campfires were extin-
er. City dump trucks carried guished and demonstra-
away tents and supplies. tors were evicted, police
Demonstrators headed by and public works crews
the local Black Lives Matter sent in a convoy of heavy
group had gathered at the equipment to set concrete
site since the Nov. 16 death barriers in front of the pre-
of 24-year-old Jamar Clark cinct station, along with a
following a confrontation steel fence on top.q
