Mo Mason, who attended LHS last year, is now in the Marines.

This year, changes have been made to policies, making things easier for Mason as a female in the military.

“It’s opening every job to every person whether male or female,” Mason said. “It’s not being sexist saying that females can’t reach the physical capabilities that males can.”

The changes happened when Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta lifted the Ground Combat Exclusion Policy put in place by the Pentagon in 1994.

In February 2012, a review of Pentagon policies resulted in the lifting of gender restrictions on 14,000 military positions. The policy previously barred women from serving in direct combat in the military, which limited the ability of women to move into higher ranks. With its repeal, hundreds of thousands of additional front-line jobs will be opened to female soldiers. The new policy will be finalized by 2016.

But women are still ineligible to serve in 238,000 specialty positions, about a fifth of the armed forces.

In reality, the law that prevents women from serving has been obsolete for quite some time. Women have fought and died in combat with men in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We live in a time where equal rights abound, so why has it taken so long for women to be allowed, by law, to serve in direct ground combat? It surely can’t be because they are inferior to men.
Historically, countless women have served in direct combat.

Tammy Duckworth is probably the most famous female veteran from the war in Iraq. When she was piloting a helicopter overseas, the aircraft was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. This made her the first female double-amputee from the war, losing both her legs. She now serves in Congress.

Women have always been able to answer the call to action, and it is time to truly have equal rights for all. According to the textbooks, we have a bright future ahead of us. As people, as soldiers, as warriors.