Women in U.S. Military No Longer Must Sign Code Saying They’re Men
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WASHINGTON — A woman in the U.S. military will no longer have to sign a code of conduct vowing to declare herself “an American fighting man.”
President Reagan has signed an executive order deleting references to gender in the official code of conduct that provides guidelines for service members if they become prisoners of war.
“I am an American fighting man,” reads the original code, which was written in 1955 after reported incidents of brainwashing of American troops captured in the Korean War. “I will never surrender my men while they still have the means to resist. . . . I will never forget that I am an American fighting man.”
The new language states: “I am an American. . . . I will never surrender the members of my command. . . . I will never forget that I am an American.”
‘Source of Ambiguity’
Defense Department officials said in a statement the code’s “gender-specific references to males was a source of possible ambiguity for female service members.”
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