Equality isn't always a good thing

Our society has more than enough trouble with men hurting women, so Panetta's move only sounds like a good idea, as Eyder Peralta's article from NPR explains:

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has decided to lift a ban that prohibited women from serving in combat, a Congressional source tells NPR's Tom Bowman. The move opens up thousands of front-line positions. Panetta is expected to announce the decision along with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff tomorrow.
Citing "senior defense officials", the AP adds:

"The groundbreaking move recommended by the Joint Chiefs of Staff overturns a 1994 rule banning women from being assigned to smaller ground combat units. Panetta's decision gives the military services until January of 2016 to seek special exceptions if they believe any positions must remain closed to women."

Back in November, four servicewomen, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the Pentagon and Panetta over the combat exclusion policy. Women, the lawsuit claimed, were already serving in combat roles, but were not receiving recognition for it. The ACLU said the combat exclusion kept women from more than two hundred thousand positions. Perhaps as a prelude, last year the military opened 14,500 positions to women and lifted a rule that prohibited women from living with combat units.
Citing a "senior defense official," CNN reports the change won't happen immediately.
CNN explains:

"The Army and Marine Corps, especially, will be examining physical standards and gender-neutral accommodations within combat units. Every ninety days, the service chiefs will have to report back on their progress.
"The move will be one of the last significant policy decisions made by Panetta, who is expected to leave in mid-February. It is not clear where former Senator Chuck Hagel, his nominated replacement, stands, but officials say he has been apprised of Panetta's coming announcement.
"'It will take awhile to work out the mechanics in some cases. We expect some jobs to open quickly, by the end of this year. Others, like Special Operations Forces and Infantry, may take longer,' a senior defense official explained. Panetta is setting the goal of January of 2016 for all assessments to be complete and women integrated as much as possible."

As alluded to earlier, the implementation of this new policy will be complex. The Wall Street Journal adds an important caveat saying that while this is the "largest expansion yet of women in combat roles, defense officials said they don't expect the change to result in women being allowed to serve as infantry troops."
The paper also reports that General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sent his recommendation on the ban to Penetta in a memo.

Rico says this will bring Broad-Ass Marine back into the lexicon...