Defense Secretary Ash Carter has ordered the military to open all combat jobs to women, overruling arguments from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that certain Marine Corps ground combat jobs should remain closed to female service members.
The Associated Press first reported Carter’s decision, which he is expected to formally announce later in the day Thursday. Carter will give the military until the first of the year to present plans to make the change.
Dunford recommended that ground combat jobs remain closed to women after a Marine Corps study showed that female service members perform worse than their male counterparts in combat operations. Dunford was commandant of the Marine Corps at the time he made the recommendation.
Dunford took over as Joint Chiefs of Staff chair at the end of September when Army Gen. Martin Dempsey left the position after four years.
Carter has been debating the issue since September.