3.14.2005
Army Revised Rules For Women
The Washington Times
14 Mar 2005
The Army drafted new language about a regulation barring women in combat-support units 11 days after the Army's top civilian told Congress there would be no changes.
A military advocacy group has asked the Pentagon inspector general to investigate the discrepancy and whether the Army's "transformed" brigades violate the combat exclusion as they fight in Iraq.
Army and Pentagon spokesmen say the Army is not violating any regulations or laws in the assignment of female soldiers to the new brigades.
"We believe the Army is in compliance," said Lt. Col. Joe Richard, a spokesman for the Pentagon's top personnel official. Department of Defense "reviews of the policy have not identified conflict between Army concept and current policies and statutes."
... Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey told the chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services committees in Jan. 13 letters: "No change to the extant policy is required."
Army regulations bar women from support units that "collocate routinely with units assigned a direct ground combat mission."
Pentagon guidelines approved in 1994 say women are barred "where units and positions are doctrinally required to physically collocate and remain with direct ground combat units that are closed to women."
Therein lies the discrepancy. A "Women in the Army" point paper, dated Jan. 24 and drafted within the Army secretary's office, states the policy a different way. It says women are barred from units, "which routinely collocate with those units conducting an assigned direct ground combat mission."
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Read the rest here
14 Mar 2005
The Army drafted new language about a regulation barring women in combat-support units 11 days after the Army's top civilian told Congress there would be no changes.
A military advocacy group has asked the Pentagon inspector general to investigate the discrepancy and whether the Army's "transformed" brigades violate the combat exclusion as they fight in Iraq.
Army and Pentagon spokesmen say the Army is not violating any regulations or laws in the assignment of female soldiers to the new brigades.
"We believe the Army is in compliance," said Lt. Col. Joe Richard, a spokesman for the Pentagon's top personnel official. Department of Defense "reviews of the policy have not identified conflict between Army concept and current policies and statutes."
... Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey told the chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services committees in Jan. 13 letters: "No change to the extant policy is required."
Army regulations bar women from support units that "collocate routinely with units assigned a direct ground combat mission."
Pentagon guidelines approved in 1994 say women are barred "where units and positions are doctrinally required to physically collocate and remain with direct ground combat units that are closed to women."
Therein lies the discrepancy. A "Women in the Army" point paper, dated Jan. 24 and drafted within the Army secretary's office, states the policy a different way. It says women are barred from units, "which routinely collocate with those units conducting an assigned direct ground combat mission."
* * *
Read the rest here
# posted by Frank_D @ 08:38 
