A House Republican has introduced a provision in the 2014 defense authorization bill to restrain the Pentagon from lowering physical standards in order to allow women to serve in direct combat jobs.
The provision introduced by Rep. Duncan Hunter of California would require women to meet the same standards as men.
It states that “all members of the Armed Forces serving in or assigned to the [job] must meet the same physical and performance outcome-based standards for the successful accomplishment of the necessary and required specific tasks associated with the qualifications and duties performed while serving in or assigned to the [job].”
The provision also would require the Pentagon to establish occupational standards no later than September 2015.
Thousands of combat jobs are expected to be opened to women by the end of 2015. Services may still exclude women from certain jobs only with approval from the defense secretary.
• Kristina Wong can be reached at kwong@washingtontimes.com.
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