All combat roles now open to women, Pentagon says

The Pentagon announced all combat jobs will be open to women in a historic shift in policy, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Thursday.

“Our force of the future must continue to benefit from the best America has to offer,” Carter told reporters during a Pentagon briefing. “This includes women.”

The move comes about two years after former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced plans to change the rule excluding women from serving in combat roles.

In late September, the military services had to submit recommendations about opening all combat jobs to women — deciding whether they will open everything up or if they will request waivers to continue to prohibit women from serving in certain areas.

RELATED: Newest US Army Rangers end debate over female capability

The Navy and Air Force had already made it clear that they will open all positions to women. The Army had not said what they would do at that point, but women being allowed to go through Ranger School was one of the first steps in that direction.

Unlike the other services, when Panetta rescinded the Direct Ground Combat Rule in January 2013, a rule that prohibited women from serving in combat jobs, the Marines began a nearly year-long, multi-million dollar research study to determine whether female Marines could serve in combat roles.

The Marines requested an exception to prohibit women from serving in certain areas and provided data and surveys to back up their concerns about the ability to perform and a higher number of injuries.

The $36 million study included about 100 women and about 300 men — all volunteers.

A U.S. military official provided some of the results of that study today. Among the results:

Recommended

Maddowblog

On women in the military, Pete Hegseth takes yet another step backwards

Steve Benen

Latest

Pentagon to provide hundreds of military lawyers to serve as immigration judges

Erum Salam

• Women were injured twice as often as the men (40.5% for women, 18.8% for men)

• Men were more accurate at shooting on every weapon system except the M4

• Women had trouble with combat tasks, including removing casualties

U.S. military officials had previously said the study provided empirical evidence that certain combat roles — specifically artillery and infantry — may be too physically demanding for women.

On Thursday, Carter made clear that “there will be no exceptions” to allowing women capable of fulfilling duties from serving in all combat roles.

“I came to a different conclusion,” Carter said of the data provided by the Marines.

Carter added that the key would be implementation.

This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com