More Than 20,000 Army Engineering Positions Opened to Women

By Tactical-Life

The following is a release from David Vergun and the U.S. Army:

Military Occupational Specialty, or MOS 12B, Combat Engineer is now open to all female enlisted Soldiers of all components, according to Army Directive 2015-27.

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The June 16 directive from Army Secretary John M. McHugh makes available 20,563 additional positions for women and opens the last of the 16 engineer MOSs, which were closed to women. The only positions not open to women in engineering are in certain special operations units.

Female officers were previously assigned as combat engineers “to provide a support network for junior female Soldiers and to offer advice to the unit’s male leadership,” said McHugh, who signed Army Directive 2014-16, June 17, 2014, making that happen.

Col. Linda Sheimo, chief of the Command Programs and Policy Division at the Directorate of Military Personnel Management, Army G-1, said the decision to open these positions to female Soldiers was made after U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command completed extensive validation studies.

“The Army remains on the cutting edge of determining scientifically-based occupational accessions standards for all military occupational specialties,” Sheimo said. “Validating these physical standards enhances our ability to predict an …read more

Source:: Tactical Life