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"In January, Leon Panetta, former Defense Secretary, lifted the ban on women serving on the frontlines. Now, the Pentagon has finally announced that it will be integrating women into combat by January 1, 2016. This means that women in the U.S. Armed Forces can join elite divisions, such as the Army Rangers and Navy SEALs. Although Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel set this 2016 deadline Tuesday, women won&amp;#039;t be training for front-line units until 2014 or later. &amp;quot;The department remains committed to removing all gender barriers wherever possible and meeting our missions with the best qualified and most capable personnel,&amp;quot; Chuck Hagel said in a May 21 memo released yesterday. &amp;quot;I remain confident that we will retain the trust of the American people by opening positions to women, while ensuring that all members entering these newly opened positions can meet the standards to maintain our war-fighting capability,&amp;quot; Hagel said. Marine Lt. Col. Jon M. Aytes said that there won&amp;#039;t be separate requirements for men and women, since the equipment and vehicles are the same for both genders. Branches can request an exception to the new policy if a woman can&amp;#039;t perform her job&amp;#039;s duties. One such potential branch: the Special Operations Command, which is surveying its men before it decides whether to integrate women into its tight-knit, elite unit. Maj. Gen. Bennet Sacolick said he doesn&amp;#039;t feel that women&amp;#039;s physical abilities will hinder the group, noting he was &amp;quot;encouraged by just the physical performance of some of the young girls that aspire to go into the cultural support teams.&amp;quot; Instead, he feels the social changes will be a larger hurdle to overcome. What do you think about the integration of women onto the frontlines of combat? Share your thoughts and comment below. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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