Come the new year, the US military is to open all fighting positions to women — but do not expect to see a female US commando leading a raid into Syria just yet.
Officials said it could take years for women to percolate into some of the military’s most specialized roles, including the elite special operations forces that have long epitomized macho soldiering.
“Implementation won’t happen overnight,” US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said on Thursday as he announced the US President Barack Obama administration’s “No exceptions” policy, unlocking every occupation in the US’ vast military.
Women only account for about 15.6 percent of the 1.34 million active-duty personnel in the US Marine Corps, army, navy and air force.
When the new rules kick in, 52 military occupations — about 220,000 jobs — would accept female applicants, who must still pass the same physical tests as men.
“For the 52 occupations that were completely closed, we have to start at the beginning,” a senior defense official said. “You have to recruit new recruits, they have to go to boot camp, they have to go to the [specialized] school.”
For instance, it takes at least a year and a half to train a Navy SEAL before they can join a unit. Further training takes about another 12 months before deployment.
The US Deprtment of Defense is increasingly relying on commandos to conduct raids in Iraq and Syria as the US fights the Islamic State group.
Another limiting factor is how many women actually want combat jobs.
General David Perkins, who heads the US Army Training and Doctrine Command, this summer said military studies and a look at the experience of Canada, which has for years allowed women in combat, showed few women are likely to choose such roles.
“It just probably won’t be a lot,” he said.
One reason is women are “dramatically less inclined” to choose infantry, armored units or artillery than their male counterparts, he said.
In Canada, for instance, where women were permitted to join combat ranks as early as 1989, their numbers in those roles remain low — making up 0.5 percent of Canadian infantry, 2 percent of armored units and 4 percent of artillery, according to Perkins.
However, Nancy Duff Campbell, co-president of the National Women’s Law Center, said more women would eventually seek out combat roles.
“When women are given the chance, they seize it,” she said. “It might be a small group at the beginning, but that group might be growing, like what we’ve seen in sports.”
Aside from Canada, the US military follows in the footsteps of other fighting forces around the world allowing women in combat. Among them are Australia, Denmark, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa and Sweden.
A RAND Corporation study found women generally adapt well into combat positions — provided the top brass are committed and involved in the transition.
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