ROME (AP) - Defense Secretary Ash Carter sounded like he's nearly made up his mind about opening all combat jobs to women, as he told U.S. troops in Sicily on Tuesday that limiting his search for qualified military candidates to just half the population would be "crazy."
Meanwhile, in memo obtained by the Associated Press, Carter gave the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff until the end of October to forward his review of the services' recommendations on which jobs - if any - should remain closed to women. The chairman, Gen. Joseph Dunford, was commandant of the Marine Corps until recently and was the only service chief to recommend some front-line combat jobs stay male-only, according to several U.S. officials.
Speaking to a crowd of troops that included a large number of Marines, Carter said he hasn't decided on the recommendations sent to his office and to Dunford. He pledged to thoroughly review the recommendations, particularly those of the Marine Corps, but said generally he believes any qualified candidate should be allowed to compete for jobs.
"You have to recruit from the American population. Half the American population is female," Carter told the troops at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily, in response to a question from a Marine. "So I'd be crazy not to be, so to speak, fishing in that pond for qualified service members."
For that reason, he said the military should recruit women into as many specialties as possible.
In the memo to all the service secretaries and chiefs, Carter said he is "fully committed to removing unnecessary barriers to service" in the military, and he asked Dunford to review all the reports and send his final recommendation to Carter by Oct. 31.
However, Carter also said he wants to hear from everyone before he decides.
"I am less interested in who is making a particular recommendation and more interested in the reasoning behind it," he said. "My ultimate decision regarding any exception to policy will be based on the analytic underpinnings and the data supporting them."
According to officials familiar with the process, Dunford submitted a report about five-inches thick outlining why he believes women should not be allowed to compete for certain Marine infantry and front-line jobs.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus forwarded Dunford's recommendation but also included his own conclusion the Navy would open all jobs to women, and he did not agree with Dunford's conclusion. The Marine Corps is a separate service within the Navy.
The Air Force and Army also did not seek to keep any jobs closed to women - including Army infantry. Also, officials said U.S. Special Operations Command determined it will rely on the military services to send qualified candidates to compete for the jobs, which can include the Navy SEALs and Army Special Forces. The elite commando units decided while there are concerns about women serving in the nation's most grueling military posts, they would leave it up to the services to decide who could compete.