VOA慢速英語：歷史性突破——美軍對女性開放所有作戰(zhàn)職位

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.

如果女性可以滿足工作需求，她們將可能服務(wù)于美國軍方所有崗位，包括戰(zhàn)斗崗位。

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，美國國防部長阿什頓卡特（Ashton Carter）在華盛頓特區(qū)附近的軍隊(duì)總部——五角大樓宣布政策變化。卡特表示軍隊(duì)各部門之間——陸軍、海軍、海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊(duì)、空軍和海岸警衛(wèi)隊(duì)必須在一月份向他上報他們計(jì)劃如何執(zhí)行該命令。

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.

卡特的計(jì)劃也招致了一些批評。

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.

約瑟夫·鄧福德二世是海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊(duì)高級將領(lǐng)。雖身為指揮官，但他指出，研究表明包含女性的軍事單位并不像全為男性的軍事單位高效。

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.

鄧福德現(xiàn)身為美參謀長聯(lián)席會議主席，美國最高軍事官員，其被要求執(zhí)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.

記者多次詢問卡特，鄧福德是否支持他的決定。卡特回答道“我的決定就是我的決定，不會更改。”他表示他希望將軍將新規(guī)定付諸實(shí)施。美國擁有強(qiáng)大的文官控制軍隊(duì)的悠久歷史。

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.

經(jīng)過近三年的研究，幾乎所有的軍隊(duì)向卡特表示，滿足工作標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的女性應(yīng)能從事任何職位。但海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊(duì)要求對于某些職位女性仍要被拒之門外，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."

卡特拒絕該要求，他表示“沒有例外。”現(xiàn)在，他指出合格的女兵可以“開坦克、…引導(dǎo)步兵作戰(zhàn)。”

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!

他表示他認(rèn)為讓女性任職戰(zhàn)斗崗位并不會對軍事單位的高效造成損害。

"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“為了我們的國防使命取得成功，我們不能將該國一半的人口拒之門外。是時候“利用不得不對女性開放的技能與觀點(diǎn)。”

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.

由于卡特的決定，女性可以任職軍隊(duì)90%的崗位工作。女性們有機(jī)會競逐22萬個軍隊(duì)職務(wù)。

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.

軍隊(duì)已逐步接受女性任職那些只對男性開放的職務(wù)。1975年，美國軍事學(xué)院開始招收女性學(xué)員；1993年，美軍允許女兵駕駛戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)以及在戰(zhàn)斗艦艇上服役。

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

并且，正如卡特指出的那樣，為保護(hù)她們自己，女性已被迫參與在伊拉克和阿富汗戰(zhàn)爭的戰(zhàn)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)