I'm posting this before I read into any other opinions and answers, because I want my full and honest opinion out there before I can possibly be swayed by anyone else.
I'm graduating high school in 2014 and going to college under the NROTC program. For the last few months (ever since I decided that I wanted to be in the military), I was constantly doubting myself because I wasn't sure there would be a role in the military that I was fully willing to do. Now that Congress is opening up combat roles to women, my doubt is entirely gone.
I plan on joining the USMC as an officer when I graduate college in 2018, and attempting combat training. Like some news reports have mentioned, it is unknown if ALL combat roles will be open, or if there will still be limitations, exceptions, etc. In my personal opinion, I don't think they should start out with a coed unit, rather have an female infantry team. However if all goes well, I could see mixed units in the near future.
When a female marine attempts to "go infantry" or "go combat", there NEED to be certain platforms. Not just any woman could join infantry, and honestly, not every woman should. Standards need to be the SAME as their male counterparts. No enemy is going to look at us and think "Oh, those are women, let's go easy on them." Anyone who thinks that is an idiot. Women need to be able to carry a certain amount of weight, endure long hours of walking with a lot of weight, be able to support themselves and not totally rely on others for their survival. The military is all about taking care of one another, but if you can't take care of yourself, you're worthless to the rest of them.
Also, when a women signs up for infantry, she needs to understand that her privacy will most likely be going with it. Women cannot worry about their period and having to use the bathroom, they need to suck it up: turn round, go behind a bush, or in the trees, and get over it. You don't see me rushing off to the bathroom 2 miles up the road while I'm camping.
If anything pisses me off more, it's a woman complaining about "sexism" and how she needs all this certain treatment just because she's a woman. Infantry and combat are for those who can handle it, not for those who are only trying to prove something.
I hope this makes sense. Only the best should be allowed in combat, and not on lowered requirements. Combat is not gender specific, and it's needs to be taken very seriously. I hope one day I will be able to pass the test on the MALE standards and become an infantry officer.
Everyone in the military is important, but those who are literally on the front line (or hypothetical front line when it comes to the middle east) run the highest risk of the ultimate sacrifice, and are, in my eyes, so much more than a "Marine" or "Soldier".