"The Pentagon will maintain bans on women serving in most ground combat units..."

"... despite pressure from lawmakers and female veterans who called the restrictions outdated after a decade of war."

After taking more than a year to review its policies on orders from Congress, the Defense Department announced that it would open about 14,000 combat-related positions to female troops, including tank mechanics and intelligence officers on the front lines.

But the Pentagon said it would keep 238,000 other positions — about one-fifth of the regular active-duty military — off-limits to women, pending further reviews. Virtually all of those jobs are in the Army and Marine Corps.

What is the reason for the limitation? Officially, it's the lack of physical strength. Males and females are currently held to different standards:

But some female veterans questioned why the Pentagon has been slow to adopt gender-neutral physical requirements for such jobs. Maybe only a few women would qualify, they said, but they should be allowed to try.

Do you agree?