American Civil Liberties Union

Last week, Pentagon officials got a few steps closer to recognizing what those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have known for years: servicewomen fight on the battlefield alongside their male counterparts, despite a longstanding rule barring them from being assigned to units that engage in direct ground combat. The Defense Department didn't altogether scrap the rules officially banning women from being assigned to such units, but it did loosen them. Under the new rules, women will be allowed to serve in some jobs — though not infantry, armor, or special operations forces — at the battalion level — that is, closer to combat than had previously been permitted. To the Pentagon's credit, it scrapped the infamous ban on women serving in units that are physically "co-located" with ground combat units, recognizing that the policy has become "irrelevant" on the modern battlefield. Now, 14,000 new jobs and assignment opportunities are open to servicewomen, though 238,000 positions still remain closed across all the armed services.

Last week, the Pentagon announced a change in policy that eased the ban on women serving in combat. This is a heartening step towards ending gender discrimination in the military and giving women who bravely serve our country the credit they have earned.

The announcement, though, was problematic for Fox News contributor Liz Trotta. She explained that women's "wanting to be warriors and victims at the same time" is an issue, citing that sexual assaults in the military have increased by 64 percent since 2006.