Women have served honorably and filled critical roles in every branch of the United States military for years. Some have served as pilots, like Congresswoman Martha McSally, who flew combat missions in Afghanistan. Some have served as logisticians, like Joni Ernst, who ran convoys into Iraq. Others have served as medics, intelligence officers, nuclear engineers, boot camp instructors, and more. Many of these women have served in harm's way. Women like Army Specialist Monica Lin Brown, who ran through insurgent gunfire and saved the lives of her wounded comrades by using her body to shield them from incoming mortar fire. Many women have made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of our Nation, including 160 killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. On December 3rd, 2015, Secretary Carter announced that the Department of Defense would lift the ban on women in ground combat units. In advance of this decision, both the Army and Marine Corps sought to assess the physical and readiness impacts of integrating women into their ground elements, including through special field studies. The Army study simulated tasks to determine what the gender-neutral standards should be for each occupational specialty based on physical tasks. The Marine Corps simulated the combat environment with men and women marines living and working together under combat-like conditions. These studies, while different in their approach, are complementary in their results. For the first time, they helped establish objective, scientifically based standards for the tasks required for ground combat.

The implementation of the decision to open all ground combat units to women : hearing before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, second session, Tuesday, February 2, 2016.

This unique book reproduces a number of military reports and government documents about the issue of women serving in combat. Contents include: Implementation of the Decision to Open All Ground Combat Units to Women * Women In Combat * Women in Combat: Issues for Congress * Women In Combat: A Culture Issue? * Army Plans for Integrating Women into Combat * Women in Combat Compendium * Chapter I - USAWC Women in Combat Survey Interpretation * Chapter II - The DoD Combat Exclusion Policy: Time for a Change? * Chapter III - The Combat Exclusion Policy in the Modern Security Environment * Chapter IV - Impact of Revising the Army's Female Assignment Policy * Chapter V - Women Leaders In Combat: One Commander's Perspective * Chapter VI - Leading Soldiers on Today's Battlefield: Considerations on Contributions and Challenges of the Integration and Role of Soldiers Who Are Women * Chapter VII - The 95th Military Police Battalion Deployment to Iraq-Operation Iraqi Freedom II * Chapter VIII - How the Army Can Meet the Intent of Policy and Statute On Ground Combat Exclusion for Women. Included are hearings in early 2016 regarding the implementation of the decision to integrate women into combat occupations and the ground combat forces in particular. Testimony by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus stated: The Marine Corps is the most formidable expeditionary fighting force the world has ever known. That legacy is proven through the Corps' storied history, from the halls of Montezuma to the Valleys of Afghanistan, and that reputation is unquestioned in America and around the globe: No better friend, no worse enemy. The strong traditions of the Marines help make that reputation, and among those traditions is a commitment to evolve, to be flexible, - in one of the common instructions to young Marines - to improvise, adapt and overcome. Throughout its history, the Corps has maintained its combat power and its lethality by adapting to changing conditions, evolving training and tactics to meet new challenges and new threats. Today's School of Infantry is not the same as it was just 25 years ago during Desert Storm, and the change is even more dramatic since Vietnam or World War II. In a world where the threats and the battle space are all increasingly complex, failing to re-evaluate everything from personnel policies to weapons programs can be dangerous if not fatal. A response of "that's the way we've always done it," is not, cannot be, and never has been, an acceptable rationale. In the Department of the Navy, we are continually evaluating the way we operate. After Secretary Panetta and Chairman Dempsey set us in 2012 on the path toward opening all billets, including ground combat, to women by this year, the Navy and Marine Corps - along with our sister services - conducted extensive studies on that issue. These studies helped inform the Department's recommendation to Secretary of Defense Carter and his subsequent decision to open all previously closed positions in all services to women. But they were not the only source of information that was gathered in reaching that recommendation. However, the Marine Corps study has drawn special attention, and at least some of what has made it into public discussion is - to put it generously - less than accurate. Among the misperceptions is that the Marines relied on just one study. In fact, their conclusions were, in part, based on a number of studies and reports. I have spent a considerable amount of time closely reviewing all of them, especially the Marines' own study. In addition, I've had numerous discussions with senior Marine leadership, junior officers, and enlisted personnel.

Distributed to some depository libraries in microfiche.

Over the past two decades of conflict, women have served with valor and continue to serve on combat aircraft, naval vessels, and in support of ground combat operations. The expansion of roles for women in the Armed Forces has evolved since the early days of the military when women were restricted by law and policy from serving in certain occupations and units. Women have not been precluded by law from serving in any military unit or occupational specialty since 1993 when Congress repealed the remaining prohibitions on women serving on combatant aircraft and vessels. However, Department of Defense (DOD) policies have prevented women from being assigned to units below brigade level where the unit's primary mission was to engage directly in ground combat. This policy barred women from serving in infantry, artillery, armor, combat engineers, and special operations units of battalion size or smaller. On January 24, 2013, then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta rescinded the rule that restricted women from serving in combat units and directed the military departments and services to review their occupational standards and assignment policies and to make recommendations for opening all combat roles to women no later than January 1, 2016. On December 3, 2015, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter ordered the military to open all combat jobs to women with no exceptions. This most recent policy change followed extensive studies that were completed by the military departments and by the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) on issues such as unit cohesion, women's health, equipment, facilities modifications, propensity to serve, and international experiences with women in combat. These studies also included a review and validation of gender-neutral occupational standards for combat roles where such standards existed. On March 10, 2016, Secretary Carter announced that the Services' and SOCOM's implementation plans for the integration of women into direct ground combat roles were approved. Some concerns about the implementation of the new policy remain, including the recruitment, assignment, and career management of women into the new roles, and the impact of integration on unit readiness. Congress has oversight authority in these matters, and may also consider issues such as equal opportunity, equal responsibility (such as selective service registration), and the overall manpower needs of the military.

Barriers to women's service in the U.S. military have been greatly reduced over the past two decades. Policies preventing women from serving on ships, submarines, and in attack aircraft were removed in 1994. More recently, in January 2013, the Department of Defense overturned the 1994 Exclusion Policy on women serving in direct ground combat units. Implementing this change presents a significant challenge. The decision to do so has reignited a long-standing debate over women's rights and equal opportunity within the military. The issue is now receiving an abundance of both negative and positive publicity, suggesting increased scrutiny over decisions made by civilian and military leaders. This book provides recommendations to support integrating women into ground combat arms positions. This is accomplished by identifying the impediments and drivers to gaining acceptance of the new policy and by distilling recommendations through a framing analysis of the debate in electronic media. The analysis identifies key stakeholder groups and issue frames, providing a lens through which to gain a better understanding of stakeholder perspectives and their arguments for and against further integration. Recommendations for future research are offered in the concluding sections of the book.

Over the past two decades of conflict, women have served with valor and continue to serve on combat aircraft, naval vessels, and in support of ground combat operations. The expansion of roles for women in the armed forces has evolved since the early days of the military when women were restricted by law and policy from serving in certain occupations and units. Women are not precluded by law from serving in any military unit or occupational specialty. However, a 1994 Department of Defense (DOD) policy prevented women from being assigned to units below brigade level where the unit's primary mission was to engage directly in ground combat. This policy barred women from serving in infantry, artillery, armor, combat engineers, and special operations units of battalion size or smaller. On January 24, 2013, then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta rescinded the rule that restricted women from serving in combat units and directed the military departments to review their occupational standards and assignment policies for implementation no later than January 1, 2016. This book reviews the issues for Congress of having women in combat. It also assesses the status of service efforts to open positions and occupations to women, including steps to identify and mitigate potential challenges; extent the services' efforts to validate gender-neutral occupational standards are consistent with statutory and Joint Staff requirements; and extent DOD is tracking, monitoring, and providing oversight of the services' integration plans.

"This study identifies approaches for bolstering recruiting of women into the armed services during the years in which ground combat jobs are transitioning to include women. RAND conducted in-depth interviews and focus groups with new recruits, recruiters, and recruiting leadership. Several themes emerged from these discussions. Many female recruits in our focus groups preferred female recruiters and female-specific events. Many male recruits in our focus groups reported not being influenced by the policy change to open combat jobs to women. Recruiters and recruits in our focus groups reported dissatisfaction with what they view as burdensome administrative requirements. Both recruiters and recruits recommended launching advertising campaigns showing women serving alongside men in a wide range of military jobs, and debunking stereotypes of military service. Finally, commanders of the recruiting services reported concern over resources available to them in the current environment. We recommend that resources be set aside to specifically target outreach to women, that the services increase the proportion of recruiters who are women and increase their visibility at recruiting events, and that the services work to reduce administrative burdens on recruiters and recruits."--Publisher's description.