Why must the first female marine combat graduates take support jobs?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/22/female-marine-combat-graduate-staff-support-jobs

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When Diane Evans went to war as a nurse in the US army she was not allowed to fight, not even when mortars rained down on her field hospital. Instead she treated wounded Vietnamese soldiers alongside Americans. “We were trained not to kill the enemy but to save them.”

This week, almost half a century later, women graduated from marine infantry training for the first time, signalling expanding opportunities for servicewomen to take rather than save life. “Now we can choose.”

Progress? Evans paused. "Of course."

Pacifists may blanch, but Thursday's graduation of Julia Carroll, 18, Cristina Fuentes Montenegro, 25, and Katie Gorz, 19, at Camp Geiger, North Carolina, marked another step towards gender equality on the battlefield.

Over the past decade thousands of US servicewomen became de facto warriors in Afghanistan and Iraq, largely because those conflicts blurred the front line and the rear.

In January the Pentagon recognised reality by lifting its 1994 ban on women in front line combat, opening up previously male-only spheres such as marine infantry.

“We did all this talking about changing the regulations and now we have women proving we can meet the standards and compete on the same level as men,” said Mary Ross, a former army sergeant who now serves as national commander of the Women Veterans of America.

Many complain, however, that the Pentagon is moving too slowly to end discrimination, just as it dragged its heels in integrating black servicemen after the second world war.

The “huge accomplishment” of the women who completed the gruelling marine infantry course was spoiled by the fact they will not be assigned to infantry units, said Greg Jacob, a former marine who is now policy director at the Service Women’s Action Network. 

They will move to staff and support jobs while the Pentagon continues studying how, and to what extent, it will integrate women into combat roles. Each service branch has until January 2016 to implement changes and nominate which jobs should remain male-only, with defence secretary Chuck Hagel and other Pentagon civilians having final say.

The female marines proved they could carry 38kg packs and rifles on 12-mile hikes, among other tests, but they still could not join infantry units, said Jacob. “It's like passing your driving test but not being given the license. The marine corp is denying them a job they clearly can do. It's blatant discrimination.”

A fourth woman, Harlee “Rambo” Bradford, also completed the training course, but a stress fracture means she must wait a few more months to graduate. Bradford posted a picture of the four women on Instagram with the caption “And then there were four”.

They were among 15 enlisted women who passed boot camp on Parris Island, a marine base in South Carolina, and volunteered in September with 254 men for the infantry course, which includes doing three pull-ups and 50 crunches in two minutes. The other women failed to complete it. Figures for the men were not immediately available.

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the military at a district court in San Francisco to remove gender-based restrictions immediately, arguing denial of combat experience was unconstitutional and impeded women's promotion.

The nature of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan meant thousands of servicewomen had experienced combat, said Katherine Platoni, a clinical psychologist and recently retired army colonel. 

Some were drivers caught up in ambushes. Others were seconded to patrols which needed female members to search female suspects – so-called Team Lioness missions. Hollywood has depicted female combatants, notably Demi Moore in GI Jane, but the public still assumed women were protected, said Platoni.

“There's a misconception that women don't see combat. I've seen combat and I'm a psychologist.” Women often proved emotionally better equipped to handle combat-related stress, she added.

Senior army and marine generals have publicly endorsed ground combat roles for women but some officers reportedly worry that a need to protect female colleagues would distract men during missions.

That notion was laughable, said Evans, the former nurse, who now heads the Vietnam Women's Memorial Foundation. During bombardments she would take cover only after ensuring all her patients were protected. “I'd be looking after them.”

Congress prodded change but it was not a matter of civilians dragging “kicking and screaming” generals, said Laura Miller, a Rand Corporation analyst who co-authored a study on the subject. “The impetus is coming from multiple directions.”

The newly graduated female marines had put a face on a complex process moving in a clear direction, she said. “The way forward now is how to do it, not if.”

The air force is the most integrated, with 99% of positions open to women. In the army and marine corps the figure is less than 70%.

Some worry that putting women into the traditionally most macho, aggressive branches of the military will worsen an epidemic of sexual assaults. A Pentagon report showing a 37% increase in the estimated number of cases of unwanted sexual contact last year has fuelled clamours in Washington.

Jacob, of the Service Women’s Action Network, said having women at every level of the military was the best way to stem assaults. “Rather than looking at it as creating more targets for predators, we see it as creating an environment in which predators can't operate.”

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