Evolution and Analysis of The Obama administration's policy lifting Research Paper

Evolution and Analysis of The Obama administration's policy lifting the prohibition of women from serving in combat roles in the - Research Paper Example The excellent roles played by these service women have prompted the congress and the entire military administration to redefine the role of female soldiers in direct ground combat operations. It is worth noting that all these decisions come amid several lawsuits against the Pentagon. Body In one of the lawsuits, women representatives argued that the restriction imposed on them was unconstitutional and was a violation of their rights to protection under the U.S law. There has been a number lifts in bans that earlier took effect within the military. For instance in 1990’s the congress brought to an end the ban on women flying in combat and serving in war ships. In a similar occasion in 2010, the Navy lifted a ban on women serving on war submarines. These changes have enabled women soldiers to participate in wider roles in the military and enhance increased combat experience unlike in the past when unfair combat-exclusion policies were in play. Modern warfare as it is in Afghanis tan and Iraq poses a big challenge to women already serving in combat operations since their services are not officially recognized. This hinders their professional development and access to promotions. The decision to lift the bans is timely and opens opportunity for women soldiers to display their expertise and prowess in warfare on the same capacity as their male counterparts. The decision by President Obama administration fits into the broad spectrum as articulated in the ambitious liberal agenda. While it looked like it was President Obama’s initiative to approve the decision and not the congress, the actual drive and pressure originated from the military itself. In fact, some members of the white house charged with responsibility of reviewing such, decisions did not do so before submitting to the president. It was therefore a joint agreement by the General Chiefs of Staff coupled with the court pressure to eliminate the gender-based barriers within the military. Each of the military branches was to have a full implementation of the policy within six months. According to the opinion of the General Chief of the military, such initiatives should be done once a careful assessment of the possible implications on the ongoing warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan had fully been assessed to avoid sacrificing the trust of the American people as well as the military success. According to the General Chiefs of Staff, such changes could negatively affect the success of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is worth noting that these actions had to take place after several years of examination only to be hurried up when the Afghanistan war is at its helm. One could think that it is because of the rising pressure from the high profiled lawsuits, in November 2012, by the American Civil Liberties Union against pentagon on behalf of service women. According to them, leadership positions for service women did not exist within the force and therefore rewarding women heroes had suffered a big blow for a number of years. Citing a case, an Air National Guard helicopter pilot failed to receive combat leadership position after being wounded badly in war simply because the Department of Defense did not officially acknowledge the existence of leadership position for women. Under the U.S law, the General Chief