women in combat

Maj. Mary Jennings Hegar served three tours in Afghanistan. She now lives in Austin, Texas, and works as an executive coach and consultant.

A Purple Heart Warrior Takes Aim At Military Inequality In 'Shoot Like A Girl'

2:57pm March 02, 2017

Maj. Mary Jennings Hegar is part of a lawsuit that argues excluding women from combat is unconstitutional. She says the lawsuit isn't about women's rights – it's about military effectiveness.

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Sgt. Kelly Brown adjusts her helmet before a weapons check last year at the Marine Base at Twentynine Palms in the Mojave Desert, Calif. The Marine Corps set up a months-long training exercise to determine whether women could serve in ground combat jobs l

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Marines Gear Up For Women In Combat, But Will They Sign Up?

1:43pm March 28, 2016

by Tom Bowman

Women can now apply for ground combat positions in the Marines, and training female recruits for those jobs will begin in June. But so far, no women have signed up.

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A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of an all-male military draft could be revived, after the Pentagon changed its policy on women in combat. Here, soldiers attend a ceremony in Arlington, Va., earlier this year.

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'Things Have Changed,' U.S. Judge Says Of Case Over Men-Only Military Draft

12:11pm December 12, 2015

by Bill Chappell

A federal appeals court hears arguments over a lawsuit challenging the Selective Service's requirement that men, but not women, register for the draft.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter is expected to announce that women can now serve in front-line combat posts. Here, Carolina Ortiz moves away from a 155-mm artillery piece after loading it during a live-fire exercise at the Marine base in Twentynine Palms, Ca

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Pentagon Says Women Can Now Serve In Front-Line Ground Combat Positions

5:19pm December 03, 2015

by Bill Chappell

The process to open combat jobs to women began in January of 2013; Thursday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter made it official across all branches of the U.S. military.

Marine Lance Cpls. Julia Carroll (left) and Paula Pineda lift "Carl" — a 220-pound test dummy — during training in March in California. Female Marines have completed months of training and are now waiting to hear whether they will be allowed to serve

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Marine Corps Study: All-Male Combat Units Performed Better Than Mixed Units

1:31pm September 10, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

The yearlong study found that all-male squads did better than mixed groups in 69 percent of the tasks evaluated. It's unclear what this will mean for the future of women in ground combat jobs.

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They Survived Training, Now Female Marines Await Word On Ground Combat

10:30pm July 07, 2015

by Tom Bowman

The women who trained on tanks and armored vehicles say they proved they belong. Such ground combat jobs will open to women in January unless the Marine Corps makes the case they should be closed.

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Troops at sea do a towing exercise, where one vehicle is "in distress" and the other has to tow it using ropes.

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On The California Shore, Sizing Up Female Marines' Combat Readiness

9:00am May 29, 2015

by Renee Montagne

The Marines are conducting a yearlong experiment aimed at settling whether women can handle the punishing world of ground combat. The goal is to create gender-neutral physical standards.

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First Lt. Ashley White was one of some 55 to 60 women selected for cultural support teams that deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. She did not make it home. She was the first woman to die and be honored alongside the Army Rangers with whom she served.

'Ashley's War' Details Vital Work Of Female Soldiers In Afghanistan

11:29am April 29, 2015

by NPR Staff

A new book looks at the women who served alongside elite special operations units in order to connect with a population that was off-limits to male soldiers: Afghan women.

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Female and male Marines prepare for a live-fire exercise at Twentynine Palms, a training camp in the Mojave Desert.

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In Intense Desert Training, Marine Women Fight For Place On Front Lines

5:03pm March 25, 2015

by Tom Bowman

The Marines are being tested in California's Mojave Desert to see if they have what it takes to serve in ground combat units. Injuries in earlier training kept a dozen women from getting that far.

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Katie Gorz (left) performs the ammo can lift next to male Marines as they go through the combat fitness test. The Marine Corps is experimenting with inserting some women into combat infantry roles that have historically been limited to men. At Camp Lejeun

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Combat Training: Can Female Marines Get The Job Done?

9:46am November 26, 2014

by Tom Bowman

The Marine Corps has begun a yearlong experiment to decide whether women can enter ground combat. Hundreds of men and women began training a few weeks ago at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

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