1st women commissioned as Army infantry, armor officers
WASHINGTON -- The Army says it has approved the first women to be commissioned as infantry and armor officers -- leadership roles that until now were open only to men.
The Army said Friday it approved requests from 22 women -- 13 as armor officers and nine into the infantry branch. They will be graduating as second lieutenants from the U.S. Military Academy, as well as from Reserve Officer Training Corps programs and the Army's Officer Candidate School.
After commissioning, the women will have to complete infantry or armor-specific training before reporting for duty qualified to be platoon leaders.
Three women became the first female graduates of the Army Ranger school last year -- Capt. Kristen Griest and First Lt. Shaye Haver in August, and Maj. Lisa Jaster in October.
Last month, in announcing how it will implement the full integration of women into infantry and armor units, the Army said it would start with officers, followed by enlisted soldiers.
The top Army and Marine Corps generals told senators in February that it will take up to three years to fully integrate women into all combat jobs, and that women should also have to register for the draft.
The military service leaders say they will not lower standards to bring women into the more grueling jobs. But they warned that inherent physical differences and different injury rates between men and women will have an impact on how the integration moves ahead.
The sometimes contentious hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee laid bare the deep reluctance of Marine Corps leaders to bring women into certain demanding infantry, armor and special operations jobs.
After the Pentagon ordered all branches of the military to integrate their ground combat units by the end of last year, or explain why women can't do the job, the Marine Corps conducted an experiment to help determine whether women should fight on the front lines.
The results showed that in almost every area, the all-male units performed significantly better than those with both men and women Marines.