women in combat

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Denmark Will Conscript Women for Military Service

Becoming just the 3rd European country to do so

(Newser) - Denmark will become just the third European country to conscript women for military service starting in 2026, the Danish government announced Wednesday. Norway started conscripting women in 2015, and Sweden in 2017. The announcement was one of a few made to address what the prime minister said are major defense...

A Big First Is Coming for Marine Corps

1st female infantry officer is expected next week

(Newser) - A big first for the Marine Corps: It will likely soon have its first female infantry officer. The unnamed lieutenant is expected to graduate Monday from the Corps' Infantry Officer Course, three military officials tell the Washington Post . She is the first of three dozen women who've attempted it...

First Female SEAL Candidate Is Here
First Female
SEAL Candidate
Is Here

First Female SEAL Candidate Is Here

She must still get through difficult training

(Newser) - A big first for the US Navy: The branch has its female SEAL candidate. A second woman is a candidate to become a special warfare combatant crewman, another elite special operations job previously open only to men. "They are the first candidates that have made it this far in...

Today, a Big First for the Marine Corps

3 enlisted female Marines have been put in a ground combat unit

(Newser) - For the first time, the Marine Corps has put three enlisted female Marines in a ground combat unit once open only to men, officials said Thursday. They will serve as a rifleman, machine gunner, and mortar Marine, said 1st Lt. John McCombs, spokesperson for the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at...

Marines Getting New Gender-Neutral Job Titles

In most cases, 'man' replaced with 'Marine'

(Newser) - Now that all military jobs are open to women , the Marines are doing away with most job titles that include the word "man." Nineteen of the Marine Corps' military occupational specialties are being renamed, with, in most cases, the word "man" being replaced by the word "...

Girl, 17, Sues for Right to Register for Military Draft

Files class-action suit against Selective Service

(Newser) - A teenage girl in New Jersey is suing the federal government for the right to be drafted. Or at least the right to register for the draft, which hasn't been used in decades. Though identified only as E.K.L. in the federal class-action suit, the Star-Ledger identifies the...

First Women Pass Marines' Grueling Infantry Training

But only non-combat roles await

(Newser) - For the first time, women have passed a military ordeal that would crush most men—the Marine Corps infantry training course. Three women out of 15 to enlist in the program will graduate from the course tomorrow after 59 grueling days of training, including a 12.5-mile hike carrying almost...

We Waste $24M a Year on the Draft: Lawmakers

Representatives push to do away with it—as women may have to join in

(Newser) - Two lawmakers are battling against what they deem an unnecessary tool of war: the Selective Service System—the organization that keeps records for any future draft. Reps. Peter DeFazio (a Democrat) and Mike Coffman (a Republican) say the success of the all-volunteer force has rendered the agency moot, and that...

5 Stupid Arguments Against Letting Women Fight

William Saletan takes on former officer's main points

(Newser) - Ever since the Pentagon decided to allow women in combat , opponents of the move have been coming out of the woodwork. One of the foremost naysayers: Jerry Boykin, executive VP of the Family Research Council and a former Army lieutenant general. He's been on Fox , written for CNN and...

So Can Women Be Drafted Now?
 So Can Women 
 Be Drafted Now? 


So Can Women Be Drafted Now?

Selective Service: They don't have to sign up

(Newser) - Since they're now eligible to join combat units , should women be required to sign up for the Selective Service—the organization that keeps records for any future draft? At least for now, it seems that women will remain exempt: "Even though the secretary of defense has decided to...

CNN Host Tricks Opponent of Women in Combat

... into agreeing with segregationist text

(Newser) - CNN host Soledad O'Brien pulled a fast one on noted gender equality foe Kingsley Browne, tricking the professor and author into agreeing with a 1941 quote supporting racial segregation in the military, in a clip spotted by Think Progress . The quote was:

Wounded Vet Duckworth: 'I Didn't Lose My Legs in a Bar Fight'

She and others say women already are in combat; critics still hate move

(Newser) - Here's a look at some of the yays and nays regarding the Pentagon's decision to lift the ban on women in combat:
  • Rep. Tammy Duckworth: The Illinois congresswoman who lost both her legs as a helicopter pilot in Iraq praises the move as "long overdue" because it
...

Panetta to Allow Women in Combat

Defense chief is lifting the military's ban

(Newser) - Defense chief Leon Panetta is scrapping the military's ban on women in combat roles. The AP has the early scoop, saying the decision opens up hundreds of thousands of positions in front-line and commando units. Panetta is expected to announce the decision tomorrow, and the military branches have until...

Women Sue Pentagon for Right to Fight in Combat

It's the second suit this year

(Newser) - Four female service members filed a lawsuit today challenging the Pentagon's ban on women serving in combat, hoping the move will add pressure to drop the policy just as officials are gauging the effect that lifting the prohibition will have on morale. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in...

Israel's Co-ed Combat Unit Finally Gets Some Credit

Caracal battalion responded to last week's shootout

(Newser) - A deadly shootout last week along Israel's border with Egypt has shone a spotlight on Israel's only mixed female and male combat unit, granting some recognition to a group that has faced much skepticism and often been the butt of jokes since its inception. The Caracal battalion's...

Female Marine: Women in Infantry Is a Bad Idea
Female Marine: Women
in Infantry Is a Bad Idea
OPINION

Female Marine: Women in Infantry Is a Bad Idea

'We are not all created equal,' writes Capt. Katie Petronio

(Newser) - The Marines are moving toward the notion of putting more women in combat roles , and one Marine in particular—a woman—thinks it's a lousy idea. "As a combat-experienced Marine officer, and a female, I am here to tell you that we are not all created equal,"...

Female Soldiers Sue Over Combat Ban

With 130 women killed in Afghanistan, Iraq, combat roles evolving

(Newser) - Two female army reservists filed suit against the US military yesterday, claiming the policy preventing women from serving in combat is unconstitutional, reports Reuters . Being banned from combat "solely on the basis of sex" violates their Fifth Amendment rights and "restricts their current and future earnings, their potential...

Stewart Floored By Fox's Rape Apologist

Daily Show host mocks Liz Trotta, Rick Santorum for views on women in combat

(Newser) - Jon Stewart celebrated Valentine's Day last night by gleefully ripping into people who have a problem with the Pentagon's new policies on women in combat. He took some brief shots at Rick Santorum ("What a surprise, Prudence von StickUpHisAss has some concerns!") but saved his...

Fox Pundit: No Surprise Women in Military Get Raped

And Liz Trotta is not happy with how much money we're spending on the issue

(Newser) - The military's easing of the ban on women in combat came just a few weeks after news that sexual violence in the military has risen sharply —and in a recent segment on Fox News, contributor Liz Trotta (who has seen her share of gaffes in the past) found...

Santorum Fears 'Other Emotions' of Women in Combat
Santorum on Women in Combat:
Let Me Clarify
UPDATED

Santorum on Women in Combat: Let Me Clarify

It's men's emotions that concern him

(Newser) - Rick Santorum isn't on board with the Pentagon's decision to formally open up some combat roles to women , he told CNN's John King last night—but it's not because he thinks women are too emotional, as it originally seemed. Putting women in the front lines "...

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