Marines moving women to frontlines

The moves announced by Gen. James F Amos,the Marine Corps commandant,in a message sent to all Marines on Monday are intended largely to study how women perform in formerly male-only units,and reflect new Pentagon rules allowing women closer to the front line.

The new Pentagon policy continues the ban on women serving as infantrymen,Special Operations commandos and in other direct-combat positions. But it has opened the door to thousands of new jobs for women,who represent about 15 percent of the force. The Army,which like the Marine Corps has excluded women from many jobs because of the physical demands or proximity to combat,is also studying ways to integrate women into ground combat units.

In the coming months,General Amos said,the Marine Corps plans to assign about 40 women to 19 battalions of six different types: artillery,tank,assault amphibian,combat engineer,combat assault and low-altitude air defence.

General Amos said he would limit the initial group to more mature Marines: gunnery sergeants,staff sergeants and company-grade officers,meaning lieutenants or captains. Navy medical officers,chaplains and corpsmen could also be assigned to those battalions.

The women will serve in specialties they already have been trained in administration,logistics,communications,supply or motor transport,but not intelligence and will be assigned to staff billets as they come open. The jobs will be at the battalion level,one step closer to the front line than had been previously allowed.

Starting this summer,the corps will also allow women to attend its infantry officer course,a demanding three-month school at Quantico,where Marines are taught how to make command decisions while fatigued and under extreme duress.