Survey: 17 percent of male Marines might leave over women in combat units

The survey was conducted last summer, according to the AP,
and the results were given to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta before he
announced last month that the ban on women in combat would be lifted.

{mosads}Among female Marines surveyed, about 31 percent of
respondents said they’d be interested in moving into a combat position, while 4
percent said they would consider leaving the service.

Amos said at a defense conference in San Diego on Thursday that
infantry units are among the most skeptical about having women join, according
to the AP.

“I think from the infantry side of the house, you know
they’re more skeptical,” Amos said. “It’s been an all-male
organization throughout the history of the U.S. Marine Corps, so I don’t think
that should be any surprise.”

Amos said earlier this week that some of the 28 Marine
positions currently closed to women would remain
closed
, though most would become open to female Marines, he said.

The military services have until 2016 to determine what positions
should remain closed to women. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the secretary
of Defense must sign off on any decisions to keep positions closed.

The Pentagon’s lifting of the ban opens up as many as
237,000 positions to women that have been closed due to the ban on women
serving in ground combat units. The majority of those positions are in the Army
and Marines.

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