It’s Official Infantry, Armor Opens To Women: Effective 1 April

Effective 1 April 2016, military occupational specialties 11X, 13F, 19D, 19K, will become gender integrated. This unprecedented act will allow women to enlist into Infantry, Armor and Artillery MOSs and serve alongside their male counterparts.

Infantry and armor positions will open to women April 1 in the next step of the Army’s gender integration plan.

“This is evolutionary not revolutionary. Women have been in combat roles for many years,” said Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow, commanding general for U.S. Army Recruiting Command. “We are now going to see women integrated into positions and units previously only open to men.”

The only specialty that still remains closed at this time is special forces. A date has not been set for the opening of 18-series positions to women.

These positions will be added to the 95,000 positions in nine different occupational specialties that have been opened to women incrementally since 2012. More than 900 women have chosen to enlist into the nine previously closed specialties thus far.

The opening of infantry, armor and special forces to women represents an additional 220,000 previously closed positions.

“I believe the opening of these combat MOSs to women will enhance the readiness of the Army,” Snow said. “Diversity is our strength, and the opening of these positions will increase our diversity.” – source The Recruiter Journal