Jessica Lynch, Ex-POW: Women In Combat Change Is ‘Good News’


Morgantown, WV – Jessica Lynch, a former US POW in Iraq, says it’s good news that women will now be allowed to serve in combat roles in the US military.

CBS News reports that Lynch, who was only 19 when she was captured in Iraq in 2003, is urging Americans to push US officials to guarantee that both male and female soldiers have proper training and equipment. The rescue of Jessica Lynch occurred nine days after her Army unit was captured almost 10-years ago.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced Thursday that women can now serve in combat roles, arguing that the move will strengthen the US military’s ability to win wars. The order opens up to 200,000 more jobs for women, mostly in the Army and Marines. The US military has until May to figure out a plan of implementation, and until the end of 2015 to actually put the plan into play.

Jessica Lynch says women have long been integral to US victories in the fight for freedom, reports The Washington Post.

Military leaders still have to decide if any jobs will still be open only to men. Retired General Richard Myers said that requirements to reach these positions won’t likely change.

“As the services look at this, I think the one thing that they’ll probably look at is not changing training standards to accommodate women,” he said. “When we brought women fighter pilots into the Air Force, we didn’t change our training standards, and women are totally accepted as part of the crew force in bombers and fighters and so forth.”

Do you agree with Jessica Lynch? Are women serving in combat roles good for the nation’s military?

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