Defense Secretary Ash Carter Announces All Military Jobs Will Now be Open to Women

In a historic move, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that the military has 30 days before all combat jobs will be open to women. Each branch of the armed services will need to formulate plans to accommodate the change. The plans will need to be implemented starting April 1.

Currently, some 10% of military jobs are closed to women. The announcement states “there will be no exceptions” when it comes to allowing qualified women to serve in any position.

“To succeed in our mission of national defense,” said Carter, “we cannot afford to cut ourselves off from half the the country’s talents and skills. We have to take full advantage of every individual who can meet our standards.”

Acknowledging that implementation will take time, he also declared, “Today we take another step toward continued excellence.”

Indeed we do. Cheers to those women who serve our country, and cheers to the new policy of equal opportunity.