Now it’s she who dares wins as first women told they can apply to SAS
WOMEN can apply to join elite SAS units for the first time, it was announced yesterday.
It means that all roles in the military are now open to women – including those in the Special Forces and the infantry.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson declared that for the first time the ‘Armed Forces will be determined by ability alone and not gender’.
He said that excluding women ‘holds our Armed Forces back’. However, some senior officers and former military figures remain sceptical about women in close combat roles, pointing out that few have the same raw strength as their male counterparts. Critics have also raised concerns that mixed-gender teams may lack cohesion.
All will be required to pass the same physical fitness and entry tests as men before joining.
The ban on women serving in ‘ground close combat roles’ on the frontline was officially lifted in 2016. But, until now, women were not allowed to take infantry roles or join the elite Special Air Service – motto Who Dares Wins – or the Special Boat Service.
They will have to pass gruelling tests – possibly the most physically and mentally demanding in the world – to join the elite units.
Yesterday’s announcement was marked by a huge land-power demonstration on Salisbury Plain, involving some of the first women to join the royal Armoured Corps.
The opening up of combat roles for woman has been phased.
The royal Armoured Corps was the first to open its doors to women soldiers in November 2016 and it now has around 35 serving or being trained to join.
From today, women who have served at least three years in the Army will be able to put their names forward for Special Forces selection, a process which takes at least a year to complete.
Selection includes a test of strength, endurance and resolve in the Brecon Beacons in Wales and in the jungle of Belize, as well as a gruelling interrogation resolve test.
Women not currently serving will be able to apply for infantry roles in December, with new recruits starting basic training in April 2019.
Mr Williamson rejected claims women were not suitable for close combat or to serve in the Special Forces. He said: ‘Women have been involved in frontline activity in so many ways for so long. We have seen women serving side by side with men in Afghanistan and Iraq for quite a long time.’
He also said that as a father to two daughters, aged 11 and 13, he would never want any career to be off-limits to them.
Mr Williamson did not rule out the prospect of creating elite women-only units. He said women already operate in elite-units in the British-trained Afghan army.
He added: ‘In combat zones it is really important that you have women in those units in order to deal with people in the local population, some of whom may well be not willing to speak to a man.’
Women currently make up around 10 per cent of regular armed forces and 14 per cent of the reserves.
Last night retired Colonel richard Kemp warned against letting ‘political correctness override ability in combat.’
He said: ‘My experience is if you have a team of men, even with one or two women, it could lead to divisiveness.
‘I am not blaming women, but anything that undermines that teamwork will cost lives.’
‘It could lead to divisiveness’