WOMEN AT WAR

Some examples of changes for women in the military:

ARMY Among the jobs that will be opened to women for the first time are tank and armored troop carrier mechanic, artillery radar operator and rocket launcher crew member.

NAVY Minimal change. Eighty-eight percent of positions already are open to women. Existing restrictions are based mostly on the high cost of modifying submarines to provide privacy for women.

MARINE CORPS No new jobs, such as tank driver, will be opened to women. But women will be allowed to perform already open jobs, such as supply officer, in units such as artillery battalions and tank battalions that had been closed.

AIR FORCE Ninety-nine percent of positions already are open to women. The few remaining restrictions are in special operations forces and ground combat units. some defense officials have said the military may eventually be open to that. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates told North Carolina ROTC students in 2010 that at some point there would be careful steps in that direction.

Already, however, women are serving with special operations forces in support jobs such as intelligence analysts, legal specialists, builders and administration assistants.

Vee Penrod, the deputy assistant undersecretary of defense for military personnel, said officials will continue to look for other possible changes, but this was a good start.

There are currently more than 250,000 positions across the military that are closed to women, and the latest changes will open up about 14,000 of them.

Nearly all are in the Army, mainly because of its size as the largest service.