Women were not permitted in combat until just ten years ago. They have advanced through the ranks and are now on the front lines.

Jones plans to become a drill instructor, in part to show young women – and everybody else – that there’s a role for them in combat.

One woman combat officer recalled during reporting of this story of being told by a male senior officer she’d have received better reviews if she had slept with her superiors. ( Women were not permitted in combat until just ten years ago. They have advanced through the ranks and are now on the front lines.)

Female soldiers have grown in the ranks of these frontline troops ten years after the Pentagon lifted the restriction on women serving in ground combat roles. However, progress is threatened by the enduring issue of sexual assault and harassment in the ranks, of which reports grew in the most recent Pentagon survey.(Women were not permitted in combat until just ten years ago. They have advanced through the ranks and are now on the front lines).

USA TODAY examined Army data on women in combat jobs, identified some of the more popular fields and spoke to several soldiers, men and women, to assess progress and acceptance.

Women have served since before the nation’s birth, joining men on Revolutionary War battlefields. All told, more than three million women have served throughout the nation’s history. The last restriction on women’s service ended in 2013 when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta lifted the Pentagon’s 1994 ban on women in direct ground combat roles. But under the Pentagon’s cautious, phased approach to opening the careers to women, it wasn’t until 2016 that women were eligible for every combat job.(Women were not permitted in combat until just ten years ago. They have advanced through the ranks and are now on the front lines.

The personal part involved his father explaining that he emigrated from Italy in search of a better life for his family, “the American dream” that Panetta said he himself has lived.

“It was important for me because I really believe that everybody has a responsibility to provide service to our country,” said Panetta, an Army veteran who served in Congress, was White House chief of staff and led the CIA and Pentagon. “Everybody regardless of race, color, creed or gender ought to have the opportunity to wear the uniform and be part of America’s military force.

“It’s in me that women ought to be given the opportunity to serve in any capacity if they’re able to do the job,” he said. “There’s no reason not to.”

Other fields include aviation, armor – meaning tanks – and the infantry, comprised of rifle-toting ground troops. Special Forces, which are small, elite units of commandos, have some of the lowest percentage of women soldiers.

“Since the opening of combat positions to women, several female service members have trained to step into these new roles,” said Army Maj. Charlie Dietz, a Pentagon spokesperson. “Over the past seven years, 100 women have graduated from the Army’s Ranger School.”