Is the combat exclusion policy still in effect?

Repeal of the Combat Exclusion Policy and the Way Forward Thousands of positions, as well as entire career fields and combat arms schools and training programs, remain closed to military women. It’s time to end the discriminatory practice of excluding servicewomen from competing for positions.

When was the combat exclusion policy repeal?

On April 28, 1993, combat exclusion was lifted from aviation positions by Secretary of Defense Les Aspin, permitting women to serve in almost any aviation capacity. Some restrictions were maintained on aviation units in direct support of ground units and special operations aviation units.

What is the ground combat exclusion policy?

(4) In this subsection, the term “ground combat exclusion policy” means the military personnel policies of the Department of Defense and the military departments, as in effect on October 1, 1994 , by which female members of the armed forces are restricted from assignment to units and positions below brigade level whose …

Are females allowed in combat arms?

Women are still barred from most combat arms professions – especially the infantry and tanks. What Congress did, here, was to allow women to serve in theater at the battalion level – which was thought to be too close to actual combat situations prior to Afghanistan and Iraq.

What is the Combat Exclusion Policy in the military?

“A. Rule. Service members are eligible to be assigned to all positions for which they are qualified, except that women shall be excluded from assignment to units below the brigade level whose primary mission is to engage in direct combat on the ground, as defined below. B. Definition.

When did the direct ground combat exclusion rule start?

The direct ground combat exclusion rule of the United States Armed Forces, commonly referred as Combat Exclusion Policy, dates back to 1948 when the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act excluded women from combat positions.

When did women get excluded from the military?

In 1994, the Pentagon declared: Service members are eligible to be assigned to all positions for which they are qualified, except that women shall be excluded from assignment to units below the brigade level whose primary mission is to engage in direct combat on the ground.

Why are women not allowed in direct combat?

Due to a shortage of troops, women were temporarily attached to direct combat units slipping in through a bureaucratic loophole. Although they were not supposed to be in positions that engaged in direct combat, and were ineligible for combat pay, thousands of women have engaged the enemy directly in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.