Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 13, 1994 TAG: 9401130177
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A8 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Although women still will be barred from jobs that involve direct ground combat, the new policy means that women no longer will be excluded from military specialties simply because the jobs are dangerous, officials said.
In rejecting the Pentagon's "risk rule," Aspin was acknowledging a lesson of the Persian Gulf War, in which U.S. servicewomen served in unprecedented numbers and often under hazardous conditions.
The new policy defines direct combat as "engaging an enemy on the ground with individual or crew-served weapons while being exposed to hostile fire and a high probability of direct physical combat with the hostile force's personnel." Exposure to risk, in other words, would not by itself be a factor in barring women from certain units - at least in theory.
Aspin's directive follows his order in April that shattered one of the oldest traditions in the military by lifting the Pentagon's long-standing ban on women in combat aircraft and surface warships.
The latest directive, however, stops short of providing specific guidance to the services on which combat support jobs they should open to women; and its practical effect is likely to be minimal, at least in the short term. Aspin and his civilian personnel chief, Edwin Dorn, are scheduled to outline the new policy at a Pentagon briefing today.
"Remember, this is a process being driven by the practicalities of military readiness rather than a social experiment," said a senior Pentagon official who described the policy change on condition of anonymity. "In the end, you've got to work through this a step at a time."
For now, senior officials said, Aspin's directive will open up only a handful of military police and "ceremonial" units. Areas such as battalion-level military intelligence, short-range air defense and field artillery will remain off-limits for the time being. Moreover, although women will be able to serve in most air combat positions, they still will be barred from "special operations" aircraft and attack helicopters assigned to Army air cavalry units.
Nonetheless, senior officials emphasized that the new policy will "open the door" to a wider role for women in combat support roles should service and civilian leaders reach consensus on the need to expand the role.
"For a forward-leaning person who's willing to say, `Come on, we're a new Army, let's do better,' I think there are possibilities for opening a large number of additional specialties," a senior official said.
The policy change was preceded by fierce internal debate. Since 1988, the Pentagon has barred women from units based on their risk of exposure to "direct combat, hostile fire or capture."
Reflecting the views of Army and Marine Corps leaders, Dorn proposed a definition of ground combat that by some reckonings would have been just as restrictive as the so-called risk rule. That is because the definition would have applied both to standard ground combat units "and/or" units with a "high probability" of exposure to enemy fire, sources said.
Described by senior officials as eager to complete the policy change before his departure this month, Aspin overruled his personnel chief last week. He substituted "and" for the "and/or" in Dorn's draft - a seemingly minor word change that has the effect of narrowing the ground combat category and removing a key obstacle to expanded service by women.
Army Lt. Gen. Daniel W. Christman, former commander of the Army's engineering school, has testified publicly that the continued exclusion of women from his branch is "increasingly difficult to rationalize on the modern, fluid battlefield of precision-guided, deep strike weapons and simultaneous attacks throughout the depth of the battle area."
Also a question mark is whether the Army and Marine Corps will allow women to serve in units equipped with the Multiple-Launch Rocket System. Although technically in field artillery, MLRS units at one time were considered likely candidates for women because of their 20-kilometer range. But a senior official said the MLRS units probably will remain closed for now.
by CNB