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Female soldiers could soon serve in 'close combat' frontline roles Military reforms will see British women deployed as front line combat troops
(about 2 hours later)
Women in the Army may soon serve in close combat frontline roles, after Government launched a review into female soldiers on Thursday. Women soldiers are to be sent into combat zones to fight and if necessary to kill for Britain, the Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has signalled.
As part of the report to be published by the end of the year, the Government will consider whether women should be given infantry roles and positions in the Armoured Corps, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said. He wants the UK to follow where the USA and other western nations have led, by opening up the infantry and armoured corps to female recruits.
The review was previously scheduled to take place after British troops withdraw from Afghanistan at the end of 2014. The numbers of women who want to fight on the front line might be small, and those who volunteered would have to pass the same stringent fitness tests as men, which would include being able to carry carry 63 kilos of kit into a combat zone.
Current rules mean woman are not allowed to serve in positions where the aim is to “close with and kill the enemy”. But Mr Hammond believes that the reform would send a powerful message that all branches of the military are “fully open” to women.
During a speech at a lunch in Westminster, Mr Hammond said he wanted to “send a message" that the Armed Forces were fully open to women. Women already serve on the front line in support roles such as medics, military intelligence operators and dog handlers, but are not allowed in situations where the primary aim is to “close with and kill the enemy”.
"I think that at a time when the Americans, the Australians, the Canadians, even the French - the Israelis of course for years - have women in their combat arms this is something we have to look at again," he said. There are no such restrictions in the USA, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands or Israel. EU law requires the government to hold a review by 2018 into whether the ban should continue in the British army. Mr Hammond has told the Chief of General Staff, Sir Peter Wall, to report before the end of this year, four years ahead of the EU deadline.
He added that to be accepted, women soldiers would have to meet the physical demands of frontline combat. Speaking at a press gallery lunch in the House of Commons, Mr Hammond denied that there is strong resistance in the military to having women under arms. He told journalists: “The image of the military is still a macho image - the last bastion of male chauvinism. The reality is very different. I am looking for a way forward that signals the Army's openness to all who can meet the standards required.”
Engineers searching for explosive devices in Afghanistan sometimes had to carry loads of 63 kilos in a combat zone, he cited. But he warned: “We won't compromise on the fitness that we require for people to be able to keep themselves safe and to do their job effectively. That will obviously mean that some roles will have limited numbers of women.”
"We won't compromise on the fitness that we require for people to be able to keep themselves safe and to do their job effectively. That will obviously mean that some roles will have limited numbers of women who can meet those criteria," he said. The announcement won immediate backing from Labour. Vernon Croaker, the shadow Defence Secretary said: "Labour called for the ban on women serving in combat roles to be looked at, with a view to ending it. Today's announcement is a step towards that.”
"I am looking for a way forward that signals the Army's openness to all who can meet the standards required" he added.
The review was welcomed by shadow Defence Secretary Vernon Coaker.
"We should be proud of the role played by women in our armed forces. Many of them already serve on the front line as medics, engineers, intelligence officers, fighter pilots and submariners.
"The armed forces should give the same opportunities to women as it does to men and this move will hopefully ensure that becomes the case."
Additional reporting by  PA