Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta opens combat roles to women

English: Official portrait of Leon Panetta as United States Secretary of Defense (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Leon Panetta is removing the military’s ban on women serving in combat.  The move is recommended by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  The move overturns a 1994 rule prohibiting women from being assigned to smaller ground combat units.  Panetta’s decision gives the military services until January 2016 to seek special exceptions if they believe any positions must remain closed to women.  Some jobs might be open this year.  However, most jobs, including the coveted Navy Seal Team, would take a bit longer. 

Newsweek: Moral Injury– the hidden injury our soldiers incur while at war

Tony Dokoupil writes in this issue of Newsweek about the “Moral Injury” our soldiers incur while at war.  Studies now suggest that guilt may be a leading factor in the rise of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Dokoupil first discusses a company of Marine reservists from Salt Lake City called the Saints and the Sinners.  As they celebrated the fall of Saddam Hussein and received flowers from some of the Iraqi people their radio operator was shot in the head.  The Marines were ambushed and were being shot from multiple vantage points.  The onslaught, of which miraculously of all the Marines survived, that ensued saw the death of Iraqi civilians.