By Kathy Groob, Founder ElectWomen.com – The Obama Administration’s announcement today to lift the ban on women serving in combat will open the door to thousands of jobs that women are fully capable of handling.  Women have been serving on the front lines of battle in Iraq and Afghanistan without receiving the title, wages or respect.  Women have been dying alongside their brothers throughout history.

From Battleland, “Women who missed the opportunity to serve in combat cheered the change.” “All jobs should be based on qualifications, not gender,” says Darlene Iskra, the first woman ever to command a Navy ship, and a Battleland contributor.

During his press conference announcing the changes, Defenses Secretary Leon Panetta said, “it is the responsibility of every citizen to protect the nation.”  This means women too.

Women have served in the military since the American Revolution and during World War II 300,000 women were deployed.  In 1948 Congress passed legislation permitting women to officially serve in the military.  Currently women represent 15% of the United States Military and 150 have died in the Irag/Afghanistan conflict with hundreds of others wounded.  With today’s all-volunteer military force, women who choose to serve their country will no longer be excluded because of gender.