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The Pentagon is changing a 1994 rule that prohibits women from being signed to combat units in the U.S. military.

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By lifting the ban, the Pentagon is opening up hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs after decades of limits on their service. There has long been opposition about putting women in combat, including doubts that they have the necessary strength and stamina or that their presence may create dynamic shifts that hurt the unit.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is announcing the changes on Thursday, but he said they will not happen overnight.

The services must now develop plans for allowing women to seek the combat positions, a senior military official said. Some jobs may open as soon as this year, while assessments for others, such as special operations forces, including Navy SEALS and the Army’s Delta Force, may take longer. The services will have until January 2016 to make a case to that some positions should remain closed to women.

Although the change reflects 21st century military realities, the reservations are flying high.

In addition to questions of strength and performance, there also have been suggestions that the American public would not tolerate large numbers of women being killed in war.

But that thought, according to Buzzfeed, is not necessarily relevant being that hundreds of women were dying in combat before the ban was lifted.

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The NAVY has already begun moving women into the submarine force, the first of the branches to begin the demographic change.

Anything you can do, I can do better. Is this a move in the right direction or should we stick to gender roles?

SOURCE: Associated Press