The Changing Face of America's Front Lines: Women in Special Operations and Combat Roles
Policy Circle Briefing Series
Date: |
September 21, 2015 |
Time: |
5:30 p.m. – Reception with wine and hors d'oeuvres |
Location: |
RAND Corporation |
Program
Two women recently became the first females to graduate from the intensive Army Ranger School, but unlike their male peers, the current ban on women in combat prevents them from serving in elite units. For the past three years, the military has been working on a plan to incorporate women in all positions by early next year. Services have until October 1 to seek exemptions. We'll discuss how a pioneering team of women who served alongside Rangers and SEALS in Afghanistan in 2011 helped pave the way, as well as the issues that remain for women on the battlefield.
Featured Speakers
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations; Contributor, the Atlantic's Defense One; Author, Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield
Director, Forces and Resources Policy Center, RAND National Security Research Division; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Personnel (2001 to 2007)
Susan Marquis (Moderator)
Dean, Pardee RAND Graduate School; Vice President, Emerging Policy Research and Methods at RAND; Author, Unconventional Warfare: Rebuilding U.S. Special Operations Forces
Further Inquiries
This event is by invitation only. Contact policycircleevents@rand.org.