WASHINGTON, D.C.-The Pentagon today announced its schedule for integrating women into front-line combat by 2016. The Pentagon is developing gender-neutral tests that men and women must pass to qualify for combat roles. The timelines follow former-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s January decision to open 237,000 military jobs to women, including infantry, armor, and special operations. Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America (CWA), the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization, responds:
“National security must not be jeopardized in order to meet an equal opportunity quota. The intent to lift the long-standing ban on women serving in direct combat is further proof that this administration simply does not care about the issues about which the majority of women care. Once again, their interest on women issues is driven by special interest groups. The point of the military is to protect our country. Anything that distracts from that is detrimental. Our military cannot continue to choose social experimentation and political correctness over combat readiness. While this decision is not unexpected from this administration, it is still disappointing. Concerned Women for America and its more than 500,000 members around the country will continue to do all we can to see that our men and women in uniform are governed with the respect and resources needed to do the hard task of fighting for and protecting our freedoms.”