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GOPs retreat from combat plan

U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Charlene Wagner of Mitchell, Ky., adds some humor during a break as she joins 1st Lt. Angie Norman, of Lawton, Okla., left, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Cathy Jarrell, of Greenville, N.C., right, last week in Fort Rucker, Ala. The three are the first female Army aviators to begin training specifically for assignment to combat units. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
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U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Charlene Wagner of Mitchell, Ky., adds some humor during a break as she joins 1st Lt. Angie Norman, of Lawton, Okla., left, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Cathy Jarrell, of Greenville, N.C., right, last week in Fort Rucker, Ala. The three are the first female Army aviators to begin training specifically for assignment to combat units. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

WASHINGTON – House Republicans backed away Wednesday from a plan that could have limited the number of jobs female soldiers can hold in the Army, particularly on the chaotic battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, a California Republican and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he would replace a proposal to limit the exposure of female soldiers to potential combat with a plan that would instruct the Pentagon to study the role of female support troops with large ground combat units.

The Army opposed the initial amendment by Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., saying it would have closed almost 22,000 slots to women and limited the service’s fighting ability.

Several prominent military organizations, primarily the Association of the U.S. Army and the National Guard Association, and congressional Democrats also opposed the plan, which was approved by an Armed Services subcommittee last week.

McHugh and Hunter agreed to a compromise, saying the Pentagon needed to determine whether it was following a 1994 policy that bars women from ground combat units.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Wednesday that the Army is working with Congress to address concerns, but he acknowledged that the nature of the battlefield in Iraq has created a situation “where there are no clear lines.”

Thirty-four female soldiers and Army civilian employees have been killed in the war and insurgency in Iraq, and their deaths influenced Hunter and McHugh to make their initial proposal.