![]() Occasionally, a branch may run a “mandatory reclassification” to maintain a balanced fighting force. After all, it’s taken time and resources to train you – the military wants to see a return on its investment. The Army and Marine Corps calls this type of change a “reclassification” or “change of military operations specialty.” The Navy calls it a “cross-rate,” and in the Air Force it is “re-training.” But no matter what it’s called in your branch, be aware the military expects service members to stay in their first specialty for a while – usually several years. But be aware, a change in military specialty is not always possible or guaranteed. If you’d like to change specialties and try something new, there are steps you can take to find a new position as you continue your service. Expanded Access at Commissaries, Exchanges and Recreation Facilities.Support for Families With Special Needs.EFMP - Exceptional Family Member Program.Wounded, Ill or Injured & Their Caregivers. ![]() There has been a lot of study and debate over whether to open those positions, because they often involve fighting in small units on the front lines, doing physically punishing tasks. The army and Marine Corps, however, have thousands of infantry, artillery and armour jobs that are currently closed to women. Officials said navy leaders concluded that since women can serve in all the same jobs on other ships, no real exclusion existed. Some argued that those ships, which are due to be phased out in coming years, would need millions of dollars in construction to add facilities for women and it wasn't worth the expense.īut Navy Secretary Ray Mabus withdrew that plan in a memo late last month that was obtained by the AP. Last year the navy considered seeking an exception that would have prohibited women from serving on older guided missile frigates, mine-countermeasure ships and patrol coast craft. Navy Riverine Crewman Course under instructor Boatswain's Mate Second Class Christopher Johnson, right, on a Riverine Assault Boat at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Navy Master-at-Arms Third Class Danielle Hinchliff, left, and Master-at-Arms Third Class Anna Schnatzmeyer, centre, participate in a U.S. Only a handful of jobs in the navy and air force are currently closed to women. Longer term, the uncertainty of the Marine decision underscores the wrenching debates going on within the military over the changing role of women, and it reflects the individual identities of the services and how they view their warrior ethos. Neither woman has been publicly identified by the military. Completing the course lets the two women wear the coveted Ranger black-and-gold tab, but it does not let them become members of the Ranger regiment. Women are also now serving on navy submarines and in army artillery units.įriday will mark another milestone as the two women graduate at Fort Benning, Ga., from the Ranger school, a physically and mentally demanding two-month combat leadership course. Women have been steadily moving into previously all-male jobs across the military, including as members of the army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, best known as the helicopter crews that flew Navy SEALs into Osama bin Laden's compound. (Robin Trimarchi/Ledger-Enquirer/Associated Press) One of the 20 female soldiers, top left, who is among the 400 students who qualified to begin Ranger School, does lunges in between obstacles on the Darby Queen, one of the toughest obstacle courses in U.S. Undercutting the Marines' reservations is that Special Operations Command is likely to allow women to compete for the most demanding military commando jobs - including the Navy SEALs and the army's Delta Force - though with the knowledge that it may be years before women even try to enter those fields. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the internal debate.Įven if Marine Corps leaders object, they are likely to meet resistance from senior navy and Defence Department officials who want the military to be united on this issue. The services are wrapping up reviews and must make their recommendations to Defence Secretary Ash Carter this fall. British women might be able to serve in close combat role by 2016.Australia to allow women in military combat roles.Pentagon lifts ban on women in combat roles.U.S. Marine Corps leaders, they say, have expressed concerns about allowing women to serve in infantry jobs and yet may seek an exception. The military services are poised to allow women to serve in most front-line combat jobs, including special operations forces, senior officials told The Associated Press.īased on early talks, officials say the army, navy and air force likely will not seek exceptions that close any jobs to women. army's gruelling Ranger test, and even tougher and more dangerous jobs could lie ahead.
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