DEBATE: Is It a Mistake for the Pentagon to Lift the Ban on Women in Combat?

This afternoon, the Pentagon is set to lift the ban on women serving in combat roles. Women make up 14 percent of the 1.4 million active service members.

KT McFarland and General Jack Keane reacted to the news on this morning’s America’s Newsroom.

While Keane says that throughout his time in the military, he was always supportive of women in service, he thinks this is a mistake. “The fact of the matter is I draw a line here because this is about direct ground combat,” he said.

According to Keane, numerous studies show that women are less likely to survive and less likely to help others survive in direct combat roles.

KT McFarland disagreed, saying, “The problem with modern warfare is there is no front line […] I think what it does is it frees up opportunities, professional opportunities for women to be in the kind of roles that then allow them to advance.”

Keane interrupted saying that there’s a big difference between being in harm’s way and being in a direct offensive combat operation day in and day out. “Our women have performed admirably being in harm’s way […] but direct infantry combat every single day is very different,” he argued.