Cameron eyes frontline female soldiers
Print Edition
Prime Minister David Cameron told The Sunday Telegraph newspaper he wanted to see female British soldiers training to fight on the frontline in 2016.
Cameron has asked the Ministry of Defence to be ready to post women in ground close-combat roles by the end of next year, after Washington announced this month its military will open all positions, including frontline combat roles, to women.
“The Defence Secretary (Michael Fallon) and I are united in wanting to see all roles in our armed forces opened up to women in 2016,” he said.
“We’ve already lifted a number of barriers in our armed forces with the introduction of female submariners and women reaching the highest ranks in all services.
“We should finish the job next year and open up ground combat roles to women.”
Female troops make up around 10 percent of Britain’s armed forces.
Women are currently banned from ground combat units “where the primary role is to close with and kill the enemy.”
A review found “no compelling evidence to prove women impair effectiveness in close combat situations,” Fallon said.
However, the study called for further research by mid-2016 into the physiological demands of such roles over time.
“I hope that, following further work on our training regimes and equipment, we can open up combat roles to women in 2016,” Fallon wrote in The Sunday Telegraph.
He insisted that whatever the outcome of the review, “combat effectiveness remains paramount.”
“Training standards cannot be lowered in order to accommodate women,” he said, adding that not all female soldiers would pass the tests.
“But by ensuring ability, not gender, determines who succeeds, we are giving everyone a chance to compete for any military role.”
Some frontline jobs were opened to women two decades ago, notably for medics, engineers and the artillery.
The new changes would apply to the infantry, Royal Marines, Royal Armoured Corps and the Royal Air Force Regiment.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
