(Washington) – US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has decided to lift ban on women serving in combat, a senior defense official said. Panetta and General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, “are expected to announce the lifting of the direct combat exclusion rule for women in the military,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told.
“This policy change will initiate a process whereby the services will develop plans to implement this decision, which was made by the Secretary of Defense upon the recommendation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” the official added. The decision marks yet another sweeping change for the military under President Barack Obama’s administration, which led a drive to lift a prohibition on openly gay troops.