This chapter provides some context for the combat exclusion policy within the USA. It is not a comprehensive overview of the inclusion or exclusion of women in the US military throughout history. Instead, there are three specific goals of this chapter. First is to demonstrate that the combat exclusion is a trope, made up of a fluid set of rules and stories, not a concrete policy that has restricted women from combat. Second is to show that policies designed to keep women from combat were designed arbitrarily – in the form of either political compromises, or reactions to political and historical events – rather than in response to evidence that women could not do the job. Third is to argue that the definition of combat itself is illusive: both “combat” and “the combat exclusion” are, in fact, constructed. This chapter illustrates that the ever-changing combat exclusion has reflected gender stereotypes, evolving political pressures, and historical events. Moreover, the combat exclusion itself is a story and a trope that has always been defined and constructed in relation to the band of brothers myth and the fantasy of the all-male unit.

In order to accomplish these goals, the chapter examines the evolving policies and regulations related to women in combat. Beginning with World War II and covering the time period up until the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the following provides a context to the evolution of the combat exclusion. It maps the various iterations of policies associated with the combat exclusion in order to demonstrate that there has never been a singular, clear, and enforceable combat exclusion policy. In addition to an overview of the political history of the combat exclusion, there is a discussion of various related court cases.