German Women Take Up Combat

German Women Take Up Combat

NewsMax.com Wires
Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2001

LUXEMBOURG (UPI) - The New Year is bringing a new era for women in Germany's military, where combat roles will now be allowed for females.

Starting this week women volunteers will no longer be limited to medical or musical units. Instead, they can serve in any career field.

Germany's military opened its ranks because of a ruling by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg one year ago. The court upheld a complaint by German citizen Tanja Kreil, an electrical engineer. She said the military's refusal to allow her into an electronics unit violated the principle of equal rights.

In response to the ruling, Germany's parliament subsequently amended the German constitution to allow women broader service.

But women have not been beating down the door at the recruiting office. The Frankfurter Allgemeine (English edition) newspaper says the military, in internal studies, planned for 15 thousand female troops - about 8 percent of the military services.

The publication says that so far fewer than 2 thousand have applied. Out of those only about 600 took service aptitude tests, and 450 passed. About half that number are reporting for duty today. The newspaper says the new recruits will be distributed among training units in the army, air force and navy. These units include the tank corps and artillery.

The military already has 4,500 female medics and band members, including 700 doctors serving as officers. There is even one female general.

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