The Army is advising public relations officials to use photos of "average-looking women," in communications related to integrating females into combat roles, saying attractive women are distracting to the service's message.

The directive was given in a memo from Col. Lynette Arnhart, a specialist who is leading a team studying the best way to integrate women into combat roles, according to a report in Politico.

"In general, ugly women are perceived as competent while pretty women are perceived as having used their looks to get ahead," Arnhart wrote. "There is a general tendency to select nice looking women when we select a photo to go with an article (where the article does not reference a specific person.) It might behoove us to select more average looking women for our (communications) strategy.

"For example, the attached article shows a pretty woman, wearing make-up while on deployed duty. Such photos undermine the rest of the message and may even make people ask if breaking a nail is considered hazardous duty."

Arnhart pointed to a photo of a female soldier with mud on her face that was distributed last spring as an example of what should be distributed.

It "sends a much different message -- one of women willing to do the dirty work necessary in order to get the job done."

Arnhart's message was originally sent to the chief of public affairs for the Army's Training and Doctrine Command and then forwarded to all public affairs officers supporting TRADOC, according to Politico. Accompanying the message was a note from Col. Christian Kubik, saying it was "a valuable reminder from the TRADOC experts who are studying gender integration -- when (public affairs officers) choose photos that glamorize women, we undermine our own efforts. Please use 'real' photos that are typical, not exceptional."

The memo comes as the Department of Defense works on plans to integrate women into combat positions. In January, DOD announced it was ending the 1994 policy that prohibited women from serving in combat roles below the brigade level.

Women are expected to be integrated into combat roles by 2016.