The Nation - News from Oct. 2, 1988

The military services unnecessarily bar women from thousands of jobs and have established recruiting goals that further limit the number of positions open to women, according to the General Accounting Office. Although federal laws barring women from combat and related policy guidelines legally close about half of all military jobs to women, the study by the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, found that procedures for identifying job availability and setting recruiting goals sharply curtail opportunities for women. Pentagon officials agreed that more jobs could be opened to women but defended many existing policies, including recruiting goals.