Breaking the mold: Issue redefinition and policy change concerning women in combat

Early works on American military women were historical in nature. When the number of women in the military increased and their roles expanded with the advent of the All Volunteer Force (AVF), published works concerning them focused on the implementation of women-in-the-military policies rather than why the policies were formulated. These policies all excluded women from combat.;This study is designed to determine why United States public policy changed to permit women-in-the-military to serve in combat and what factors influenced this change. The study began with the establishment of Ripley and Franklin's (1991) topology as the appropriate theoretical framework with which to analyze women-in-the-military policies. Ripley and Franklin theorize that different types of policies activate different patterns of decision-making which may then influence policy outcomes. Next the inquiry reviewed the history of women in the military followed by an examination of the major issues concerning the status of military women. Previous women-in-the-military policies were then analyzed through policy development and legitimation with special attention to the major participants in the policy-making process and their relative influence on policy outcome. Finally, the women-in-combat policy was traced through the legislative process leading to its development and legitimation, with special emphasis on the major participants involved and their influence. The results of the study confirmed that as women-in-the-military policy changed over time from one policy type to another, the nature of the policy processed changed as did the participants and policy dynamics.