In response to:
Yes to women in combat, IF:
1. They make the grade physically and mentally
2. They do not get to pick their specialty, just like men don't
3. They cannot use pregnancy to get out of or shorten deployments or combat zone assignments. If a man can't shirk his duties because his wife is expecting, a woman should not either. It's called the pill.
By the way, the military has the best equal pay for equal work program... This should not set the military back.
On his way out the door as Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta has lifted the ban on women serving in combat roles on the front lines of our wars. More from AP:
Senior defense officials say Pentagon chief Leon Panetta is removing the military's ban on women serving in combat, opening hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs after more than a decade at war.
The groundbreaking move recommended by the Joint Chiefs of Staff overturns a 1994 rule banning women from being assigned to smaller ground combat units. Panetta's...
I don't know when/if you served. But since the 1980s at least, Men (and women) pick the exact Military Occupational Specialty for which they apply as long as they are qualified for the job by test score.
If you want to drive a tank, be a scout, be Infantry or do 1 of the 100s of non combat jobs like computer specialist, satellite communication worker or x-ray tech, you choose it before you enlist.
It is on your contract when you join exactly what your MOS will be. I picked Infantry in 1983 although my ASVAB was high enough to choose anything because it was what I wanted.
You wrote: 2. They do not get to pick their specialty, just like men don't
My point is men DO get to pick their specialty, at least in the Army, I can't speak for the the way Marines do it.