White House extends support for opening up military jobs for women

Last year, the Pentagon opened at least 2,20,000 military jobs to women; these were previously restricted to men

The Obama administration has declared its support for requiring women to register for the military draft, a symbolic but significant shift that reflects the US military's evolution from a male-dominated force to one seeking to incorporate women at all levels.

President Barack Obama has been considering whether to adopt the position since last December, when Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered the military to open all jobs to women, including the most arduous combat posts.

Ned Price, a spokesman for the White House's National Security Council, said on Thursday that Obama believes women have "proven their mettle," including in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"As old barriers for military service are being removed, the administration supports as a logical next step women registering for the Selective Service," Price said, using the formal name for the military draft.

The White House emphasised that the administration remains committed to an all-volunteer military - meaning women, like men, wouldn't be forced to serve unless there was a national emergency like a major world war. Changing the policy would require an act of Congress, and there are no signs that lawmakers plan to move swiftly to alter the law.

Obama, who will leave office in less than two months, has less leverage over Congress and the broader Washington agenda than he did earlier in his presidency.

Like his embrace of gay marriage in 2012, Obama's announcement appeared aimed more at influencing the public debate about women in the military in the coming years than forcing an immediate policy change.

The Defense Department echoed Obama's position, first reported by USA Today. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said that Carter believes the inclusion of women throughout the military's echelons has strengthened the military's might.

"He thinks it makes sense for women to register for Selective Service, just as men must," Cook said.

But a $611 defense policy bill now up for a vote in the House stripped out language that would have required women to register for the draft.

Late last year, the Pentagon ordered all military jobs be opened to women, including about 2,20,000 jobs previously restricted to men, including in special operations forces. Carter and other military leaders insisted that the military wouldn't lower the physical standards for those jobs to enable more women to qualify.