Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaks during the 2018 POW/MIA National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, Friday, Sept. 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
The jury is out on whether woman can excel in infantry jobs given that their numbers are too few, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis recently told students at the Virginia Military Institute.
Mattis said he’s asked Army and Marine Corps leaders to provide information to determine if having women serve in close-quarters combat is a strength or weakness, the Associated Press reported.
"There are a few stalwart young ladies who are charging into this, but they are too few," Mattis said during a visit to VMI, which is in Lexington, Virginia. "Clearly the jury is out on it, but what we're trying to do is give it every opportunity to succeed if it can."
Mattis said the issue must be resolved by objective military officers who understand that the service is open to all in response to a question from a male student who described his female classmates as “fierce.” He also added, "we cannot do something that militarily doesn't make sense."
Mattis compared the issue to someone breaking into a home and having to decide “who grabs the baseball bat” to protect the children and “who reaches for the phone to call 911,” the paper reported. He never gave an answer as to which is the right decision.
The AP reported both the Army and Marine Corps have acknowledged that the numbers of women seeking infantry jobs are small and that some have struggled to get past the physically demanding training.
As of August, 26 females enlisted Marines and one female officer were serving in the infantry roles, the Marine Corps said. Branch-wide, the number of women serving in units previously only open to men grew from 254 last year to 382 this year.
In addition, female Marines are now allowed to attend the formerly male-only Marine Combat Training Battalion at Camp Pendleton, California. Previously, they attended combat training at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
In the Army, there are 51 women infantry officers and 253 enlisted women. Another 51 women are serving in officer and enlisted positions in the Army Reserve and 17 women have passed the Army’s two-month Ranger school.
Because of the growth, Army leaders this year decided to allow women to serve in infantry and armor units at another three military bases, Fort Carson, Colo., Fort Bliss, Texas and Fort Campbell, Ky, according to the Military Times.
Previously, integrated units were only allowed at Fort Hood, Texas and Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
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The door to let women serve in combat roles was swung open in 2013 by former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. The Marine Corps pushed back on the idea and recommended the branch be exempted from integrating women into certain infantry and ground combat units.
In 2015, then Defense Secretary Ash Carter rejected the idea and ordered all combat jobs be opened to women.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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