Army Staff Sgt. Jennifer Hunt  Army Staff Sgt. Jennifer Hunt of
Gaithersburg and three other service members are challenging the
policy that bars women from formal combat roles. (Lloyd Fox,
Baltimore Sun / December 26, 2012)  Thousands of military jobs
have opened up to women in recent years, but not those in the
front-line combat units. That may soon change, however, as a
result of a lawsuit brought late last year by four women
veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, including Staff Sgt.
Jennifer Hunt of Gaithersburg. Their complaint alleges that
banning women from combat roles solely on the basis of their
gender violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution
and restricts women's opportunities for career advancement and
higher earnings and pensions. It's time to end this
discriminatory policy, which not only is unfair to military
women who want to serve their country but also fails to
acknowledge the changing reality of warfare.  Today, women make
up 15 percent of America's 1.4 million active-d