In February 2013, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey directed the military to integrate women into combat positions by the start of 2016.

All men between the ages of 18 and 25 in the United States, whether they are citizens or immigrants, must register for the selective service. If women are to be permitted in infantry units in the military, should they also be required to register for the draft?

If women can fight in combat roles just as well as men can, then they should have just as much of a chance to be drafted.

Since 1917, more than 16 million men have been drafted into the United States military according to the Selective Service website. The most recent draft ended in 1973.

Women, who now account for almost 15 percent of the military, have taken a stand and shown that they are just as capable as their male counterparts in many tasks.

It seems with the change in the military of permitting women in combat roles, it may be time to look at the selective service and open the door for women to register along with men, just as they fight along men on the battlefield.

The only other option is to remove the requirement to register for the draft altogether.  Only then will the military be fully equal for all sexes.