I think the jury is still out. It really is interesting. Some in the military have said this could be a problem, could create tension on the front lines, could change the dynamic. I think what Senator McCain said -- you know, if you read closely what his comments are, that we still have to maintain our superlative status as a military, and we can't let, you know, policy changes get in the way. And, of course, I empathize with women out there who want to be on the front lines fighting, but I think, first and foremost, we have to preserve our superior military and make sure that this doesn't change that dynamic in some way, which is good. -Susan Ferrechio

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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, joined by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, announced this week an end to the 18-year, 1994 prohibition that excludes military women from military combat. In so doing, the U.S. joins other western countries. Germany, Italy, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Serbia, Switzerland, Israel, even New Zealand, already allow women in combat rules and frontline positions. In Iraq and Afghanistan, at least 130 American women have been killed in the line of fire, and the number of American women wounded is over 800. Soon women will be able to fight back on the front lines and in elite special forces, but women will have to meet the same strength standards as men if they choose a combat role. Senator John McCain, Vietnam war hero and tortured as a prisoner of war, favors the women in combat roles, but adds this. Quote: It is critical that we maintain the same high standards that have made the American military the most feared and admired fighting force in the world, particularly the rigorous physical standards for our elite Special Forces units, unquote. Allowing women in combat roles will open up more than 200,000 jobs to women, mostly in the Army and Marine Corps. The plan is to be drawn up by May and implemented over three years. Combat experience, by the way, is considered a prerequisite to jobs in the top military brass.