By SARA LAWSON
Columnist

What have Disney and the United States Armed Forces figured out? Girls can fight too.

As an avid Mulan and Merida fan, I am happy to hear that the Missouri National Guard has opened the remaining 600 combat positions to women that had previously not been available to them.

Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter announced Dec. 3, 2015, that all combat positions would be open to women. Given a 30-day deadline, the combat-oriented branches of the military have been making strides toward opening combat positions to women, and the Missouri National Guard’s announcement in early January marks one of many milestones in military history.

In all of history, women have always been a part of war, working as cooks and nurses, disguising themselves as men for months or years so they could fight on the front lines. Fast forward to the present day, when women have been in combat situations and had to fight, regardless of the fact if they were not enlisted in a combat position or not.

“When you are in that kind of [combat] situation, it doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman,” said Jeff Huffman, director of the UCM Military and Veterans Success Center. “A soldier is a soldier.”

Carter’s decision is a welcome one, having opened up 220,000 jobs that were previously off-limits to women. However, the standards to get those jobs will be the same. Women will have to complete the same training, testing and requirements that have been set in place for men.

On campus, the ROTC Fighting Mules Battalion is not expected to have a significant influx of female cadets as a result of the opening of combat jobs, but “just that the army recognizes females as equals may influence them to join,” said Lt. Col. Jason Christenson, professor of military science.

Female enrollment makes up about 30 percent of the program.

“It’s a great opportunity for females to be offered to join the combat arms… and be recognized as equals as a soldier,” said Tui’iemanu Ripley, a seniorcadet of the UCM Fighting Mules Battalion.

The full integration of females into combat positions has been in the works for more than a year and the branches were given a chance to present evidence that it would be an issue, but the decision seems to be, for the most part, well received.

Master Sgt. James Krause said the military has taken steps toward change throughout history, stating such instances of racial integration and the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell as instances of positive change in the military.

While it is true that fewer females are enlisted in the military than men, and meeting the standards for combat positions will be difficult, I think that if someone has the capacity and drive to undergo the training and pass the requirements to fill those positions, all for the sake of defending their country, it should not matter if they are a man or a woman.