Women to Serve in Combat Battalions

Starting this week, women will be assigned to serve in Army combat battalions under a pilot program in a move that more accurately reflects how women have been serving alongside infantry units on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan for years.

Under the policy change announced earlier this year, female officers and non-commissioned officers will be assigned to combat units below the brigade level. The 4th Brigade Combat Team at Fort Campbell is one of the first nine brigades selected to test the new jobs for women.
 
Col. Val Keaveny Jr., the brigade commander, told The Associated Press for the last decade it has been common to have women temporarily attached to the combat units and serve alongside them and this provided a bigger pool of talent in his units.