The debate over where--and how--women should serve in the military has been raging for even longer than the fight over "don't ask don't tell." A 1994 restriction imposed by the Clinton administration bars women from being assigned to units below the brigade level (each brigade has 3,500-5,000 troops) or taking part in direct ground combat. Pentagon officials have defended the ban by arguing that it would be difficult to have women and men living in close quarters and that women wouldn't be able to handle the physical strains of front-line combat.

In practice, however, those restrictions fell away years ago on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. The guerilla conflicts don't have fixed front-lines, which mean that women serving in support roles like logistics have frequently found themselves in firefights with insurgents. Female helicopters pilots fly troops into active battles and help evacuate the wounded. Female troops serve alongside small combat units to help defuse bombs, analyze intelligence gathered during raids, and treat wounded troops. Female troops are often at the wheel of Humvees in supply convoys on bomb-ridden roads.

More recently, specially trained female troops who pass rigorous physical tests have begun participating in Special Operations raids in Afghanistan as part of new "Cultural Support Teams." The teams are meant to help Army Ranger and Special Forces personnel tap local women for usable intelligence; male troops couldn't approach local women on their own because of cultural norms in Afghanistan.

Pentagon officials made clear on Thursday that the role of women in the military would expand even further in the months and years ahead. Defense Department spokesman George Little said that each of the military's branches had been directed to conduct a six-month review of what other positions could be opened to women. Little said the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard would also be developing gender-neutral physical standards for many positions.

"Secretary Panetta believes this is the beginning--not the end--of the process," Little said.

The report was sent to Congress earlier on Thursday, and lawmakers there will have 30 business days to review the proposed changes. Barring legislative maneuvers to block or modify the new policy, the changes will take effect automatically.

The immediate impact of the changes is that women will be formally allowed to live and work alongside small ground-combat units, though they will still not be assigned to units whose primary mission is ground combat or to take part in such fighting themselves. The moves should make it easier for many female troops to gain the experience necessary for promotions to higher ranks, which is often dependent on time spent in combat or in the warzone.