On Friday, May 23, 2014, the Department of Defense notified Congress of the U.S. Army and U.S. Special Operations Command plan to eliminate gender restrictions within previously closed units of the U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command.
The action involves approximately 1,300 positions, according to the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs.
In the January 2013 memorandum rescinding the 1994 Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule, the Secretary of the Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff directed the services and U.S. Army and U.S. Special Operations Command to work together in a deliberate, measured and responsible way to assign women to closed positions.
Advancing this effort, the Secretary of the Army and Commander U.S. Army and U.S. Special Operations Command forwarded to the Secretary of Defense a recommendation that expands opportunities for women to serve in all four battalions of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
“Given the joint nature of special operations, USSOCOM will synchronize our efforts with each service while observing the joint chiefs’ guiding principles to preserve unit readiness, cohesion and morale,” said Maj. Gen. Christopher Haas, director for Force Management and Development at U.S. Army and U.S. Special Operations Command.
Once the congressional notification process is complete, changes will be implemented through a deliberate and incremental process. Female officers and non-commissioned officers will be assigned to each unit previously closed to women, followed by female enlisted Soldiers.
DOD officials notified Congress of the intent to open the following positions in the U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command: