The military is falling short in providing equal health care for women on the battlefield even as public pressure grows to give them a broader role in combat, a task force led by female officers has concluded.

“The health issues and uniform issues are areas that, if we are going to be expanding the role of women [in combat], or even maintaining the current role, we need to do a better job at, so that women are equally served,” said Army Col. Anne Naclerio, a pediatrician who leads the group.

None of the health problems outlined in the report would bar women from serving in combat, but they create unnecessary physical discomfort, Naclerio said. The Army, for example, treated about 450 women for urinary tract infections in Afghanistan last year, according to service data. Basic improvements are needed to help women avoid higher rates of urinary tract or vaginal infections, stress-related menstrual difficulties and the chafing, bruising and bleeding caused by ill-fitting body armor designed for men, the task force’s report says.

The Pentagon continues to bar women from serving in infantry positions, but the Marine Corps and Army are looking closely at the possibility of lifting the ban. Both services have opened to women jobs in select ground combat units previously available only to men, and research is ongoing to evaluate physical fitness standards necessary for jobs whose primary mission is direct ground combat.Click here to read more

Sgt. Julie Nicholson, Female Engagement Team leader, Marine Headquarters Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, shakes hands with an Afghan child during a mission in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Nicholson‚ÄÒs team conducts searches of Afghan women and children and gains information from the women who are not permitted to interact with men outside of their families. Photo by Regional Command Southwest

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