In addition to establishing the direct ground combat assignment rule in 1994, the Secretary of Defense also permitted the services to close positions to women if (1) the units and positions are required to physically collocate and remain with direct ground combat units, (2) the service Secretary attests that the cost of providing appropriate living arrangements for women is prohibitive, (3) the units are engaged in special operations forces’ missions or long-range reconnaissance, or (4) job related physical requirements would exclude the vast majority of women. Numbers and Types of Assignments Currently Closed to Women

At the time of our review, about 221,000 positions, or about 15 percent of the approximately 1.4 million positions in DOD, were closed to servicewomen. DOD’s Current Rationale for Excluding Women From Direct Ground Combat

When DOD formalized its policy excluding women from direct ground combat positions in 1994, it adopted the primary elements of the Army’s ground combat exclusion policy as the DOD-wide assignment rule. At the briefing, defense officials said they believed that “integrating women into ground combat units would not contribute to the readiness and effectiveness of those units” due to the nature of direct ground combat and the way individuals need to perform under those conditions. The DOD official providing the briefing said that physical strength and stamina, living conditions, and lack of public support for women in ground combat were some of the issues considered. As of September 1998, DOD had no plans to reconsider the ground combat exclusion policy because, in its view, there is no military need for women in ground combat positions because an adequate number of men are available. Additionally, DOD continues to believe that opening direct ground combat units to women lacks congressional and public support. However, DOD’s definition of direct ground combat links these tasks to a particular location on the battlefield—“well forward.” In making this link, the definition excludes battlefields that may lack a clearly defined forward area. Should this trend continue, defining direct ground combat as occurring “well forward on the battlefield” may become increasingly less descriptive of actual battlefield conditions. To determine the relationship of DOD’s definition of direct ground combat to current military operations, we reviewed Army and Marine Corps ground combat doctrine. Positions Closed to Women, by Service

About 15 percent of all positions across the armed forces are closed to women because they (1) are in occupations that primarily engage in direct ground combat, (2) collocate and operate with direct ground combat units, (3) are located on ships where the cost of providing appropriate living arrangements is considered prohibitive, or (4) are in units that engage in special operations missions and long-range reconnaissance.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed various issues pertaining to the treatment of men and women in the armed forces, focusing on: (1) the numbers and types of positions that are closed to women and the associated justifications for closure; (2) Department of Defense's (DOD) current rationale for excluding women from direct ground combat; and (3) the relationship of DOD's definition of direct ground combat to current military operations.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) approximately 221,000 of DOD's 1.4 million positions are closed to women, who comprise about 14 percent of the armed services; (2) about 101,700 of these positions are closed based on DOD's policy of not assigning women to occupations that require engagement in direct ground combat; (3) the remaining 119,300 positions are closed because they are collocated and operate with direct ground combat units, are located on certain ships where the cost of providing appropriate living arrangements for women is considered prohibitive, or are in units that conduct special operations and long-range reconnaissance missions; (4) GAO found no positions closed to women because of job-related physical requirements; (5) DOD's current rationale for excluding women from direct ground combat units or occupations is similar to its rationale when it first formalized the combat exclusion policy in 1994; (6) at that time, DOD officials did not consider changing its long-standing policy because they believed that the integration of women into direct ground combat units lacked both congressional and public support; (7) furthermore, transcripts of a 1994 press briefing indicate that DOD officials believed that the assignment of women to direct ground combat units would not contribute to the readiness and effectiveness of those units because of physical strength, stamina, and privacy issues; (8) at the time of GAO's review, DOD had no plans to reconsider the ground combat exclusion because in GAO's view: (a) there is no military need for women in ground combat positions because an adequate number of men are available; (b) the idea of women in direct ground combat continues to lack congressional and public support; and (c) most servicewomen do not support the involuntary assignment of women to direct ground combat units; (9) DOD's definition of direct ground combat includes a statement that ground combat forces are well forward on the battlefield; (10) this statement, however, does not reflect the less predictable nature of emerging post-Cold War military operations that may not have a well-defined forward area on the battlefield; and (11) if this trend continues, DOD's definition of direct ground combat may become increasingly less descriptive of actual battlefield conditions.