US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has lifted the military's ban on women serving in combat roles, potentially opening hundreds of thousands of frontline positions to women.
the president was "very pleased" with the new policy. He noted the proposal had emerged from military commanders
This decision could open more than 230,000 combat roles to women,
"It's certainly not going to be helpful to our women in the military, or our men. It will cause enormous complications in the infantry battalions - the small tip-of-the-spear units, the ones that fight the enemy with deliberate offensive action under fire. These units are all-male for very good reasons.
omen comprise 14% of America's 1.4 million active military personnel.