Aussie Women May Gain Combat Roles

Aussie Women May Gain Combat Roles


SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Australian defense officials have recommended to the government that women soldiers be permitted to fight on the front lines, a newspaper said Sunday.

A report by the Defense Department recommended that women be allowed in combat if they match men's physical standards, The Sunday Telegraph said.

``The report says there is no medical reason for women to be excluded from combat roles as long as they are of the same height, weight and fitness levels as the men,'' the newspaper quoted a department official as saying. ``Women can do anything men do.''

If the government accepts the recommendations, Australia will join the United States, Canada, Netherlands, Norway and Israel in allowing women into combat, the newspaper said.

Women in the Australian armed forces can currently carry weapons only for self-defense. Those rules were challenged by a three-year study carried out by the army's directorate of career management.

The Defense Department report recommended that women who want to serve in combat meet the same physical requirements as men, rather than the different tests they now undergo, according to the newspaper.