Congressman Joe Heck (NV-03), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, today released the following statement on Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter's announcement that he will open all combat jobs to women.
"Our first priority must be to ensuring the safety and security of our troops and of Americans here at home. This must be the foundation of any changes to the structure of military units. Women play an increasingly important role in our armed forces. Having served alongside women my entire military career, I can say without reservation that they serve with the same dedication, bravery, and selflessness as any man in uniform. In the days ahead, I expect Congress to exercise its Constitutionally-prescribed oversight role to review the process that produced today's announcement to ensure that process was as thorough as possible and that today's announcement will support our national defense. I plan to have representatives from the Department of Defense before the Military Personnel Subcommittee to discuss the review process and how today's decision was reached."
