Ending US combat ban will even career playing field, servicewomen say

(Reuters) - A Pentagon decision to lift a ban on women in front-line combat roles will remove an obstacle that stymied women's careers but had little meaning on modern battlefields with no clear front lines, U.S. military women said on Wednesday.

Defence Secretary Leon Panetta is expected to formally announce on Thursday that he will lift the policy that excluded women from units whose main job is to engage in combat, U.S. Defence officials said.