ANKARA
British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon announced Friday British women could join their male comrades in ground combat units by 2016.
The announcement came after a government review revealed that allowing women in infantry units would not have any so called adverse effects on troop cohesion.
Fallon said in a statement that "there should not be any bar to serving in the armed forces on the basis of gender," and the "roles in our armed forces should be determined by ability, not gender," he added.
Currently, women are not allowed to join British infantry or armored corps, but they can serve in other combat positions.
Chief of Defense Staff General Sir Nicholas Houghton said "our aim must be to maximize the use of talent without compromising our standards or undermining capability."
"It is but one supporting element to my primary goal of ensuring that we maximize the talent available to the army," Chief of General Staff General Sir Nicholas Carter said.
The aim of the review was to assess the current exclusion of women from ground close combat roles, to identify the benefits and risks of changing this policy and make recommendations.
According to the review, further research into the physiological demands placed on those in close combat roles before a final decision is made on lifting the current exclusion on women.
There are 15,920 women in the British army, including 3,000 or nine percent in the navy, around 8,010 or nine percent in the army and 4,910 or 14 percent in the Royal Air Force, according to statistics from the defense secretary.
There have been a lot of debates about women being deployed in the frontline. Some scholars and parliamentarians argue that women had proved themselves in a variety of roles and they too should be on the battleground.
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