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| Pentagon to end ban on women in front-line combat | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has decided to lift the military's ban on women serving in combat, a senior Pentagon official has said. | |
| The move could open hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and elite commando jobs to women. | The move could open hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and elite commando jobs to women. |
| It overturns a 1994 rule prohibiting women from being assigned to small ground-combat units. | It overturns a 1994 rule prohibiting women from being assigned to small ground-combat units. |
| But the military would have until 2016 to argue for any specific posts they think should remained closed to women. | But the military would have until 2016 to argue for any specific posts they think should remained closed to women. |
| The decision is expected to be formally announced on Thursday. | The decision is expected to be formally announced on Thursday. |
| The senior defence official told the BBC: "This policy change will initiate a process whereby the services will develop plans to implement this decision, which was made by the Secretary of Defense upon the recommendation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff." | |
| Military chiefs will be asked to report back to Mr Panetta by 15 May on their initial plans to implement the new policy. | |
| Some jobs are expected to be opened to women this year, while others - including for special forces such as the Navy Seals and the Delta Force - could take longer. | |
| This decision could open more than 230,000 combat roles to women, many in infantry units. | |
| The move broadens Mr Panetta's opening last year of about 14,500 combat positions to women, nearly all of them in the Army. | |
| In November, a group of four women in the military sued the defence department over the ban, arguing that it was unconstitutional. | |
| One of the plaintiffs, Marine Corps Capt Zoe Bedell, said existing rules had blocked her advancement in the Marines. | |
| During the Iraq and Afghan wars, US female military personnel have worked as medics, military police and intelligence officers, sometimes attached but not formally assigned to front-line units. | |
| Women comprise 14% of America's 1.4 million active military personnel. | Women comprise 14% of America's 1.4 million active military personnel. |