New opportunities open up for women to join US military

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New opportunities open up for women to join US military

The U.S. military stopped drafting soldiers in 1973 when the war in Vietnam was winding down. The U.S. now has an all-volunteer military, but young men are still required to register for the draft.

Now the White House is voicing support for requiring young women to register for the draft.

CCTV America’s Jim Spellman reports.

A change in policy would require Congress to pass a law, and the incoming Trump administration could reverse course, so it’s not clear what the end result might be.

The shift comes a year after the U.S. opened all combat roles to women.

Thousands of women served in the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And in many other countries women are serving vital roles in the military.

In China, these fighters’ jets are flown by female pilots, and women serve in many positions throughout the military.

At least 15 countries allow women in combat.

In Norway, women are now drafted into the military. At first, there was resistance from male soldiers, but the women have proven their worth alongside their male peers.

In Israel, female fighters serve side by side with their male counterparts in mixed gender battalions.

Women fight alongside men on a battlefield that knows no gender, only duty.


Army Veteran Maureen Short discusses women in military

To discuss women’s changing and evolving roles in armies and navies around the world, CCTV America’s Elaine Reyes spoke with U.S. Army veteran Maureen Short.