ABSTRACT
In January 2013, the US Defense Department announced that it would lift the ban that had prevented American women from serving in combat positions. Although women make up more than 14 percent of that nation’s active duty military, and many female soldiers have been injured or killed during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, women had been automatically excluded from the 230,000 positions that offi cially involve direct combat. In certain other countries (e.g. Canada, Australia, New Zealand), women have already been serving in combat roles (Barnes and Nissenbaum 2013).
