female soldiers

13 Stories

Defense Chief Pick Not a Fan of Women in Combat
Potential Defense Chief:
No Women in Combat
the rundown
Nov 14, 2024 10:55 AM CST

Potential Defense Chief: No Women in Combat

It's not clear if Pete Hegseth would attempt to reverse Pentagon rule

(Newser) - "I'm straight up just saying that we should not have women in combat roles," Fox News host Pete Hegseth declared on a recent podcast. The reason his view is gaining attention, of course, is because Hegseth is President-elect Trump's choice to be the next defense secretary...

For Female Soldiers, Texas Bases Are the Worst

Study finds higher risk of sexual assault

(Newser) - Female soldiers at Army bases in Texas, Colorado, Kansas, and Kentucky face a greater risk of sexual assault and harassment than those at other posts, accounting for more than a third of all active-duty Army women sexually assaulted in 2018, according to a new Rand Corp. study. The study looked...

Female Army Recruit Called a Deserter

Pvt. Erika Lopez turned herself in Thursday night

(Newser) - The Army is investigating one of the first women to sign up as an Army combat engineer after she went AWOL last fall, Fox News reports. Pvt. Erika Lopez, who is married and has two kids, was the nation's fourth woman to register as an Army combat engineer. She...

What 16 Women Achieved on Day 1 of Ranger School

Their pass rate was actually better than the men

(Newser) - The Army's elite Ranger School got underway yesterday, but this class of hopefuls makes a little history as it includes the first female soldiers to attempt Ranger training, reports the Army Times . Opening the training is part of the Army's efforts to assess the possibility of integrating women...

Military Lets Its Hair (Policy) Down, OKs Dreadlocks

Military branches to update grooming rules; old ones dubbed racist

(Newser) - The Pentagon is rolling back its grip on how military personnel wear their hair, and will now allow twisted braids, dreadlocks, and cornrows after complaints that banning them was racist, the Virginian-Pilot reports. "Each service reviewed its hairstyle policies to ensure standards are fair and respectful while also meeting...

Defected Female Officer Training Syrian Rebels

Zubaida al-Meeki is featured in upcoming film

(Newser) - Zubaida al-Meeki isn't your average Syrian rebel. As a woman, she stands out among her male colleagues, but she's also the first female officer to defect from President Bashar al-Assad's army, and is a member of his same religious sect, Alawite, reports al Jazeera . Al-Meeki says she...

Army Tests Body Armor 'for Her'

New tactile vests are shorter, lighter

(Newser) - A group of female soldiers about to deploy to Afghanistan is taking along a brand-new style of body armor designed specifically for women. Old gear was restricting, making it difficult for women to bend over, fire rifles mounted on their shoulders, or maneuver in and out of tight spaces, reports...

8 Women Sue Military for 'High Tolerance' of Rape

They say they were raped, sexually harassed

(Newser) - Eight current and former servicewomen have filed a lawsuit against the US military, saying that they suffered rape, sexual harassment, and other abuse, and that reporting it to their superiors brought retaliation. The suit, which names past and current leaders up to and including Leon Panetta, says the military has...

Suicide Rate of Female Soldiers Triples in War Zones

But rate for male soldiers still higher

(Newser) - Female soldiers are three times more likely to commit suicide once they are deployed to a war zone, according to a major Army study. The 5-year study, conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health, found that suicide rates rose from 5 to 15 out of 100,000 among female...

Female Vets Sue Pentagon Over Sex Abuse

Lawsuit says rape is rampant, but ignored by commanders

(Newser) - Seventeen current and former service members, all but two of them female, have filed a class-action lawsuit against the military alleging that systemic sexual abuse is rampant among the troops but ignored by commanders. "There are three types of women in the Army,” one of the female victims...

Pentagon Panel: End Combat Ban for Women

Draft report calls restrictions discriminatory

(Newser) - Another military taboo to fall? It looks like the ban on women serving in direct combat roles is in jeopardy. An advisory panel's draft report declares that the practice of restricting women's duties is behind the times and discriminatory, the Huffington Post reports. Among other things, the panel says it...

Aussies May Let Female Soldiers Fight

Proposal sparks fierce debate over women's fitness for combat role

(Newser) - The Australian military may change its guidelines to allow women soldiers to serve in front-line combat roles, the AP reports. The country's defense minister says he believes all service roles should be open to women if they can meet the physical demands, and the move may help persuade more females...

Changing Wars Put GI Jane on Front Lines

(Newser) - Officially, US women soldiers aren't supposed to engage in the same bloody combat as their male counterparts. But as Iraq and Afghanistan force war to evolve, the military increasingly depends on female machine gunners and truck commanders, reports the New York Times. And female soldiers' mettle under fire has led...

13 Stories
Most Read on Newser