Call to arms

American women in uniform have been fighting and dying for their country for years in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's about time the Pentagon acknowledged that fact, by formally opening more than 14,000 combat jobs to them.

The decision came this month, following a recommendation made nearly a year ago by the Military Leadership Diversity Commission set up by Congress. The new policy will allow women to assume new roles at the battalion level, such as tank and artillery mechanics and rocket launcher crew members.

That's progress for servicewomen who have shown themselves to be as capable as their male peers, but it still leaves the bulk of the military's 250,000 positions off limits to them. If anything, the Defense Department's move is too slow and too cautious.

There are about 200,000 women among America's active-duty force of 1.43 million. They account for 14 percent of the nation's fighters. In the past decade, 280,000 women have served in Iraq, Afghanistan, or neighboring countries -- and 144 of them never came home.

Their commitment to duty and their willingness to give the last measure show the will of many women to endure danger and sacrifice on behalf of their country. The least America can do for them is open the door wider.