Britain Considering Letting Women Serve in Front-line Infantry Units

British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said on Monday that Britain's army is considering scrapping the rules which ban women soldiers from serving in front-line infantry units.

"Women are already in front-line jobs in the armed forces, with artillery units, as fighter pilots and in warships," Hoon said in an interview with the Times newspaper.

This "means they are just as likely to be in a position to kill people in combat as men. That would be the same if they had an infantry role," the defense secretary said.

Under current British army rules, women are forbidden from serving on infantry missions which involve close combat. A review of that position is currently underway, but the result is not due to be announced until next year.

Hoon, who took office last year from George Robertson who is now the secretary-general of NATO, has a track record of liberalizing army regulations. Earlier this year, he lifted the ban on homosexuals in the armed services.

"My personal take on this issue is that the burden of proof is now on those who want to maintain the present position to show that there will be particular problems which would have an impact on operational effectiveness," the Times report quoted him as saying.

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