Denmark to Permit Women to Enlist in Combat Units
NATO member Denmark, saying women are as able as men, announced Wednesday it will allow females to serve in front-line combat posts such as tank drivers, paratroopers, commandos and infantry soldiers.
The move, effective July 1, would make Denmark the first member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to expand the role of women to include fighting forces.
Defense Minister Bernt Johan Collet said a two-year study has shown that women are as able as men to carry out combat duties.
He said psychologists, physicians and instructors had followed the performance of a test group of women placed in a few designated units over the last two years.
“After evaluating the reports, I am in no doubt whatsoever that the time has come for the armed forces to be opened up to women,” Collet said.
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