Female Army Vet Says Combat Positions Should Be Open To Women

NPR

Published September 29, 2015 at 12:40 PM EDT

Capt. Kristen Griest salutes during the graduation ceremony of the United States Army's Ranger School on August 21, 2015 at Fort Benning, Georgia. Capt. Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver are the first women ever to successfully complete the U.S. Army's Ranger School. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

Wednesday is the deadline for the military services to submit recommendations to Defense Secretary Ash Carter about which combat positions or units should open and which should stay closed to women. This comes after the historic graduation of two women from the Army’s Ranger School and a report in People magazine that said the results were fixed so at least one woman would graduate even before the course was held.

Here & Now’s Robin Young checks in with a woman who served as a sergeant in Iraq who believes combat positions should be open to everyone. Lauren Augustine, who is now a legislative associate for the advocacy group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), says “not every man is meant for the infantry, just like every woman is not going to be meant for the infantry.”

Guest

Lauren Augustine, Army veteran who is now a legislative associate for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. She tweets @laurenmla610.