Female Marines Left Behind in Deployment

Some female Marines were left behind when their units were sent to Saudi Arabia in the first days of the U.S. military deployment, the U.S. Marine Corps acknowledged Wednesday.

The corps said some women troops remained in the United States in the initial stages of the deployment to ensure they would not encounter active combat upon arrival in the Persian Gulf. Federal law prohibits women in the armed services from serving in combat units.

But the corps said that as soon as positions are established and it becomes clear that the women will not encounter combat they will be permitted to leave for the Persian Gulf.

The concern, military officials said, was that the first troops deployed in the region were entering unknown territory and could have been forced by unforeseen circumstances to adopt an offensive stance.

“When you go into an unknown situation, even though your orders may state that you are there in a defensive capacity, if anyone is going to have to switch from a defensive to an offensive posture, it is the initial units,” Marine spokesman Randy Gaddo said. “You would not want to put women in a position that would be breaking the law.”

For security reasons, the corps would not divulge how many women were affected by the delay or what rank and positions they hold. But it said that women from all U.S. services have been on active duty in Saudi Arabia since last week.

“The important thing is that there are women there,” Pentagon spokesman Stuart Wagner said. “There are women from all of the services there.”

Not all women had to remain behind, Wagner added. He reported that two female Marines left with their units without any delay in the first days of the deployment.

But some of the women who were separated from their units were upset about the decision. “All of the women Marines are being pulled out and replaced by men,” a woman officer complained in the Aug. 27 issue of Navy Times. “This is a perfect example of how the Marine Corps is paying lip service to us.”