VOA慢速英语：历史性突破——美军对女性开放所有作战职位

Women will soon be able to serve in all positions in the United States military -- including combat -- if they meet the demands of the job.

如果女性可以满足工作需求，她们将可能服务于美国军方所有岗位，包括战斗岗位。

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced the policy change Thursday at the Pentagon -- the headquarters of the military near Washington, D.C. Carter said the branches of the military -- Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard -- must tell him by January how they plan to fulfill his order.

周二，美国国防部长阿什顿卡特（Ashton Carter）在华盛顿特区附近的军队总部——五角大楼宣布政策变化。卡特表示军队各部门之间——陆军、海军、海军陆战队、空军和海岸警卫队必须在一月份向他上报他们计划如何执行该命令。

Female soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division train on a firing range while testing new body armor in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Sept. 18, 2012.

Carter's plan is not without critics.

卡特的计划也招致了一些批评。

Joseph F. Dunford Jr. was the top general in the Marine Corps. While he was Commandant, he pointed to studies showing that militaryunits that include women are not as effective as all-male units.

约瑟夫·邓福德二世是海军陆战队高级将领。虽身为指挥官，但他指出，研究表明包含女性的军事单位并不像全为男性的军事单位高效。

Dunford is now Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- the nation's top military officer -- and will be required to put Carter's order into effect.

邓福德现身为美参谋长联席会议主席，美国最高军事官员，其被要求执行卡特的命令。

Reporters asked Carter repeatedly if Dunford supported his decision. Carter said "my decision is my decision." He said he expects the general will put the new policy in place. The United States has a long history of strong civilian control of the military.

记者多次询问卡特，邓福德是否支持他的决定。卡特回答道“我的决定就是我的决定，不会更改。”他表示他希望将军将新规定付诸实施。美国拥有强大的文官控制军队的悠久历史。

After almost three years of study, almost all of the services told Carter that women who meet the standards of a job should be able to be placed in any position. But the Marine Corps asked that women continue to be banned from some positions -- including infantry.

经过近三年的研究，几乎所有的军队向卡特表示，满足工作标准的女性应能从事任何职位。但海军陆战队要求对于某些职位女性仍要被拒之门外，包括步兵。

Carter refused. He said "there will be no exceptions." Now, he noted, qualified women will be able to "drive tanks ... and lead infantry units into combat."

卡特拒绝该要求，他表示“没有例外。”现在，他指出合格的女兵可以“开坦克、…引导步兵作战。”

He said he does not believe letting women hold combat jobs will hurt the effectiveness of military units. visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

他表示他认为让女性任职战斗岗位并不会对军事单位的高效造成损害。

"To succeed in our mission of national defense, we cannot afford to cut ourselves off from half" of the country's population, he said. He said it is time to "harness the skills and perspectives that women have to offer."

他表示“为了我们的国防使命取得成功，我们不能将该国一半的人口拒之门外。是时候“利用不得不对女性开放的技能与观点。”

Women had been able to work in about 90 percent of the military's jobs. Because of Carter's decision, they will be able to fill all remaining 220,000 positions.

由于卡特的决定，女性可以任职军队90%的岗位工作。女性们有机会竞逐22万个军队职务。

The military has gradually accepted women in positions that were once held only by men. In 1975, it opened its military academies to women. In 1993, it let women fly fighter jets and serve on combat ships.

军队已逐步接受女性任职那些只对男性开放的职务。1975年，美国军事学院开始招收女性学员；1993年，美军允许女兵驾驶战斗机以及在战斗舰艇上服役。

And, as Carter noted, women have been forced to engage in combat to defend themselves in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

并且，正如卡特指出的那样，为保护她们自己，女性已被迫参与在伊拉克和阿富汗战争的战斗中。

I'm Christopher Jones-Cruise.

我是Christopher Jones-Cruise。

Christopher Jones-Cruise reported this story from Washington. Kathleen Struck was the editor.

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Words in This Story

unit– n. a single thing, person or group that is a part of something larger

infantry– n. the part of an army that has soldiers who fight on foot

exception– n. a case where a rule does not apply

tank– n. a military vehicle that moves on two large metal belts with wheels inside them and that is covered in heavy armor

harness– v. to use (something) for a particular purpose

perspective – n. a way of thinking about and understanding something (such as a particular issue or life in general)

gradually– adv. moving or changing in small amounts; happening in a slow way over a long period of time

engage in– phrasal verb to do (something)