I must be frank. As a combat veteran from Vietnam, I can truthfully say I wouldnt want a woman in a foxhole with me and although thats not very PC, its a view shared by most veterans

This is a three-fer for Obama. He pleases the feminists, further destroys the military, and will make lots of lawyers very, very rich.

This is a very bad idea on a lot of levels. For that reason, it will probably become reality in this insane asylum named Washington, D.C. And the way it was announced illustrated once again that Congress is completely irrelevant.

Other than being a terrible idea, timing of the information release detracted from the Benghazi hearing. Coincidence? I think not!

Women have no place on the front lines. They aren´t as strong as men and have personal body issues that men just don´t. If they decide to do this, it should be only if the woman volunteers for it.

The buchest bulldyke is not nearly as physically strong or aggressive as a below average man. It´s mostly in the testosterone.

Agree #4. Nothing this administration and it´s stooges do surprises me. Also nothing they do is coincidence. Whatever they do is choreographed to the Nth degree.

Dittoes, #2, et. al. I, too, am a Vietnam combat veteran (Rangers) and a long serving Special Forces soldier.

All I can say is this is stupid, stupid, stupid, and it will cost lives. Both male and female lives.

Early this morning someone sent me Michael Yon´s comments, and he is right on target.

In order to please some critics expect the defense to be women may "volunteer" but not be required to serve in front lines. Career military females not "volunteering" for front line duties will be placed at a disadvantage for promotions and choice duties.

Now forming....Panetta´s Foxhole Club.

So what do we have here America? Yet another Obama Administration Official Act of Insanity, surely "cooked up" by a bunch of leftist sad sacks, yardbirds, feminazis, draft dodgers and perfumed princes sitting around an LSD (Long Smooth Desk), somewhere deep in the bowels of The Pentagon, guaranteed to adversely affect the "esprit de corps" and readiness levels of our nation´s front-line units, stationed at home and around the globe!

Physiological fact: even fit, athletic women have, on average, 50% less upper-body strength as men.

Some will dispute this on account of the fact that women generate the same force per unit of muscle as men. Of course. But women have a lot bigger fat-to-muscle ratio than men. And we hAVE to. If a woman´s fat-to-muscle ratio goes down below about 14%, she stops producing estrogen, which is the very hormone that maintains bone strength in women.

In other words, train til you´ve gotten rid of all the feminine body ratios, and you go hormone-deficient, your bones go brittle, your muscles get inflammatory, and you get disabled by pressure fractures and shin-splints when you run, esp. carrying a heavy pack.

And In combat what are the men in the unit going to do? Carry them? Or more likely, the men will constantly be pulled back to help the women.

THis is going to get people killed.

And they say conservatives have a "War on Women.":o/.

There was a time when nothing could beat the U.S. military. They will lower the physical standards. They will make the combat arms kinder, more gentle organizations. This new policy should even things up for the next civil war.

This is one of the stupidist ideas I have ever heard.

Did anyone at DOD ask the serving soldiers for their opinion before coming up with this one?

Pentagon says.......look over here, don´t look at the Benghazzi hearings.

Our headlong descent into barbarism is accelerating rapidly. What civilization can survive when it sends its women, its mothers, its FUTURE, overseas to fight and die? And please tell me what they will be fighting for; this unlawful and illegitimate government? Unrestricted abortion? Homosexual unions? Dependency? Rampant regulation? Unlimited debt? NO! NO! NO! I gotta tell you, folks; I was an American. I loved America. I proudly served in America´s Marine Corps. But no more. That America is dead and gone, never to return. A communist, statist takeover has occurred in this country and the tragic truth is that the majority is just fine with it. Me? I do not care anymore. Wallow in what you have created, America. And if you can even remember, cry for what you have lost.

Did they not even think to look at the Israeli experience with women in combat units? They are so blind with their grand visions of political correctness they fail to apply the lessons others have already learned.

And liberals claim conservatives are anti-science.
Be careful what you wish for ladies.....

Can women sue for: HOSTILE WORKING ENVIRONMENT?

Post reply 17 speaks for me also. There is nothing to believe in anymore. Kaput.

Very, very few women are going to serve in army and marine infantry and special operations forces for very long. This policy change by the liberals is political, and simply gives women a chance to volunteer for those ground combat units, thus allowing them to punch their ticket, and qualify for advancement to the higher ranks in combat branches where they will never actually be expected to endure the extreme hardship of close quarter sustained ground combat. After all, Obama is shutting down the wars on a date certain in 2014.

Re #17, one thing they won´t be fighting for is victory.

This president never mentions the word. It is not a goal. When he uses the word "fight," it is always against Republicans or political opponents, Americans.

#12. And will the females expect to go to the front of the line with their VA claims 40 years down the road?
Will they wait 4-10 years to get a claim decided?

I guess now all women over 18 will be eligible for the draft! Wives, mothers, girl friends, sisters, and who knows?

On F&F this morning, Allison Camarata said that this will open up "new jobs" for women. Since they´ve never have had to undergo the travails of combat before, I will give them some slack for such blockheaded thinking. The military, however, is complicit in this attitude with the relentless feel-good advertising for the volunteer military. Yet another example of the slippery slope.

Men are required to ´go into combat´.

Will women be required to ´go into combat´ or will women have to volunteer for combat?

Will women be ´required´ to register for the draft.

Just wondering.

If women are eligible for the draft, the Obama girls should be required to register.

Chelsea is probably too old.

OMG rolls eyes mommies in body bags. physical issues men just don´t have. not in my foxhole. get a grip people.
nobody should be in combat. it is nasty, dirty, crippling, and physically and mentally disabling. half the population should not be protected from it when it is a matter of national security. half the population should not be denied the promotion opportunities that those jobs put before a person during peace time either.
but most of all, the playing field should not be leveled, the requirements should not be adjusted so everyone could do it, which is just as stupid as building each foxhole with handicap ramps. this is not lets give everyone an A and a prize so nobody feels bad.
Back in the late 70´s when there was such an uproar in the EOD field about women in the field, my brother got tired of the well, they can´t carry the 8" rounds out, and we´d have to do for them. So, being a big guy, he went and got one, and put it on his shoulder and walked into the discussion, and said, okay, here it is. any of you girls can´t pick this up and carry it, turn in your badges. only one guy in the whole room could do it. probably the reason i got to blow up stuff for almost 20 years (big grin)

This nation´s enemies who we will confront on the battlefield are going to really enjoy these "easy pickins". When all the realities of face to face combat come back to haunt those that saw fit to use this nation´s military for "social experimentation", I hope they become deathly ill over their lunacy. Of course it will not be them who pays the ultimate price for their stupidity, but our service members both male and female.