Historic Decision on Combat Roles for Women Opens the Doors of Opportunity to All Women in the Armed Forces, says NWLC

(Washington, D.C.) Pentagon Chief Leon Panetta has lifted the military’s ban on women serving in combat.

The following is a statement by Nancy Duff Campbell, Co-President of the National Women’s Law Center:

“This is a historic day.  Secretary Panetta’s decision to lift the direct combat exclusion both opens the doors of opportunity to all women in the Armed Forces and eliminates the last vestige of government-sanctioned sex discrimination in the United States.  Now if the best person for the job is a woman, she will no longer be barred from that job simply because of her gender.  As President Obama said on Monday, ‘our journey is not complete,’ but we’ve just passed another significant milepost along the way.  Hip hip hooray!”
 
NWLC experts on women in the military are available for comment.