Sisters in arms

In a move whose time has come, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced Thursday that all U.S. military combat roles, bar none, will soon be open to qualified women. Shooting mortars. Driving tanks. Scouting enemy terrain. Leading troops into battle. Dangerous and vital jobs that many men and many women cannot do — but that some men and some women can.

From infantry to the Navy SEALs, from reconnaissance to the Green Berets and Army Rangers, no post will be off limits to women, who until now have been formally excluded from some 220,000 assignments.

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta set history in motion three years ago with a commitment in principle to allow women into combat, leaving open the possibility of male-only carveouts.

After extensive study and consultation with the commanders of each of his forces, Carter wisely declared Thursday: “There will be no exceptions.” Adding: “If they’re qualified.” Women aspiring to combat roles will have to, if they’re Marines, carry colleagues, scale walls, swim thousands of feet and bust down doors to be considered for a post, just like men must.

With comrades’ lives in the balance, that is as it must be.

No question, G.I. Janes will in many cases be charging uphill. Of the 19 women who entered Army Ranger School’s first class to accept female trainees, just two made it to the finish line.

The Marines tested all-male teams against mixed-gender groups and found that the male groups consistently outperformed those that included women — and that the women themselves were less accurate in firing and likelier than the men to suffer injury.

But for those women who are up to the task, there’s no stopping them now. In an era of often murky warfare waged against non-state actors, women have already been risking and giving their lives alongside men. In Iraq, 111 made the ultimate sacrifice; another 44 did in Afghanistan.

Their courage and sacrifice are fittingly honored by a military open to all.