Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    Posture Statement

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        National Guard Office of Special Victims' Counsel

    Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Army looking at expanding women's combat opportunities By Julia Henning
                Army News Service
 WASHINGTON - Last month, the Army announced its plan to integrate women into combat roles, opening positions within 27 brigade combat teams, which include nine National Guard brigade combat teams. The Army also opened positions within field artillery battalions down to the company level, so that female officers could be battery commanders and platoon leaders. Other positions throughout the Army are being examined and could possibly open to women under the "Soldier 2020" initiative, said Col. Linda Sheimo, chief of the Command Programs and Policy Division at the Directorate of Military Personnel Management, Army G-1. **Soldier 2000** The Army's "Soldier 2020" initiative is about having the best Soldiers possible in the Army by 2020, Sheimo said. Part of that will be re-evaluating standards and validating gender-neutral standards for Army jobs, she explained. The Soldier 2020 initiative requires the scientific validation of all physical fitness standards that are currently in place. This evaluation could make way for the development of a pre-test, so that individuals can take more time to train and prepare on their own for certain jobs. "We're not lowering standards," Sheimo said. "We are ensuring that every Soldier knows what the standard is. The reality is that you will have some cases where men will not be able to meet that minimum requirement, they just won't have the physical capability, and there might be some women that do." By summer 2015, recommendations will be made to Army senior leadership about what jobs can and cannot realistically be opened to women, she said. **Proven history** It’s not new for women to fight for their country. From enlisting undercover like Deborah Sampson, to firing cannons like Molly "Pitcher" Hays McCauley, women have been fighting in combat since the Revolutionary War. In the 1940s, the Army first made headway into incorporating women into the ranks. It was then, in 1942, the military allowed women to serve as part of the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps, later the Women's Army Corps. In 1978, that organization was dissolved and the WAC was integrated into the Regular Army. **Exclusion from combat** In 1994, then Secretary of Defense Les Aspen put into effect the Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule, or DGCAR. The rule prohibited women from being assigned to ground combat units below the brigade level. As part of the DGCAR, the Army's Training and Doctrine Command reviewed positions that were closed to women every three years, Sheimo said. In February 2012, the Army asked for an exception to the DGCAR to be included as part of the Secretary of Defense's Report to Congress on women in service. This allowed the Army to open up non-commissioned officer, or NCO, and officer ranks in nine brigade combat teams. The Army received the go-ahead, May 14, 2012. About 280 women were assigned to the newly opened positions, Sheimo said. The Army conducted two rounds of focus groups, interviews and survey, months apart, to assess the integration of women into those units. "The findings were pretty much all positive," Sheimo said. "There were concerns about women's ability to do physical tasks, but over time, they were able to keep up with physical training and those types of things. There's at least one brigade combat team, which was in that first group, that is actually deployed right now with females serving in those positions." The women serving on those teams will pave the way for more, Sheimo said. Former Secretary of Defense Leon Pannetta made the decision to eliminate the DGCAR based on the recommendation of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Sheimo said. The elimination of the policy meant the Army would now have to ask for an exception to policy to exclude women from units, positions or occupations. Previously, the Army had to request an exception to policy for a woman to serve as stated above based on the DGCAR. However, all notifications or requests for exception to policy must go through the Secretary of Defense to Congress and complete a required waiting period before the changes can go into effect Sheimo said. "It's about making sure we have access to the best individuals and then giving them the opportunity to find their niche where they can serve the Army the best," Sheimo said. **More jobs to open** When the Soldier 2020 recommendations are made in 2015, Sheimo said the default will be to open jobs to women. If the Army wants to keep certain jobs closed to women, officials must present a case for that, and ask for an exclusion, she said. After passing through Army senior leadership, those recommendations will move on to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and finally to the Secretary of Defense. Then, the Secretary of Defense will notify Congress of any decisions, Sheimo said. In order to integrate women into new career opportunities as soon as possible, the Army offered female NCOs the option to reclassify into occupations previously closed to women. The Army will follow a "stairstep" approach in placing officers and senior NCOs in previously closed units to facilitate integration of female Soldiers in positions recently opened to them. Because the reclassification is voluntary for NCOs, however, there may be few NCOs who will request this opportunity. The changes in the force structure and the size of the Army will also limit the number of NCOs who will be able to reclassify. **Integration** Sheimo said she thinks women will be able to integrate into newly opened units the same way men already integrate themselves into those units, by proving their competency. "In the cases where women have integrated really well, it is because they proved themselves, just as men have to do," Sheimo said. Sheimo also said she thinks that having women in units could make them better by bringing to them unique capabilities that closed units don't already have. "Having females as part of combat teams can be a force multiplier, since women can engage with the local women in a particular country," Sheimo said. "There are some occasions, such as at security check points, where it is inappropriate for a woman to be checked by a man, and there are cultures where it is unacceptable for a woman to interact with a man. "Could the unit be better because females come into it? Will they raise the bar?" Sheimo asked. "Units do well when competent Soldiers arrive, are able to accomplish all tasks to Army standards and are encouraged to meet their potential, regardless of diversity."
 SHARE
 PRINT
 
 Pennsylvania Army Guardsmen Complete Combat Lifesaver Course
 By Sgt. 1st Class Shane Smith,
  38th Infantry Division Soldiers Conduct Warfighter Exercise
 By Master Sgt. Jeff Lowry,
  Puerto Rico Air National Guard Trains at Red Flag-Alaska
 By 156th Wing
  More
 Pennsylvania Army Guardsmen Complete Combat Lifesaver Course Guard News • 4 hours ago
 38th Infantry Division Soldiers Conduct Warfighter Exercise Guard News • 11 hours ago
 Puerto Rico Air National Guard Trains at Red Flag-Alaska Guard News • 12 hours ago
 Air National Guard Conducts Sentry Savannah Exercise Guard News • yesterday
 Hawaii Air National Guard Hosts Sentry Aloha Joint Exercise Guard News • yesterday
 2024 (196)  2023 (427)  2022 (526)  2021 (697)  2020 (936)  2019 (387)  2018 (323)  2017 (346)  2016 (245)  2015 (356)  2014 (399)  2013 (469)  2012 (556)  2011 (533)  2010 (1071)  2009 (357)  2008 (638)  2007 (295)  2006 (188)
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil