“We have an obligation to expand the professional opportunities available to women, especially considering their sacrifices,’’ said Brown, a Republican who sits on the Armed Services Committee, citing the 140 female service members who have been killed in battle zones since 2001.
Some Republicans, including presidential candidate Rick Santorum, have denounced efforts to integrate women closer to the front, saying it would undermine discipline and distract soldiers.
Brown took that argument head on yesterday: “Doing so, in my view, would improve military effectiveness, not detract from it,’’ he said.
Brown, who is facing a tough Democratic challenge for reelection, faced fallout from some women’s groups for cosponsoring a controversial bill that would allow employers, based on their religious or moral beliefs, to limit health care coverage, including for contraception and in vitro fertilization.
An adviser to one of Brown’s opponents, former Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren, labeled the timing of Brown’s letter ironic and hinted it might have been timed to soften some of that criticism.
Warren believes women in the armed forces should be allowed to serve in all positions.
Many Democrats agree, but Republicans have been reluctant to expand women’s roles.
Santorum recently set off a minor firestorm when he criticized Panetta’s decision.
“I think that could be a very compromising situation, where people may naturally do things that may not be in the interest of the mission, because of other types of emotions that are involved,’’ Santorum told CNN.
Presidential campaign advisers for Mitt Romney did not respond to a request for comment on the former Massachusetts governor’s stance on the issue.
Other leading Republicans, including Vietnam veteran and Senate Armed Services Committee member John McCain, have expressed deep reservations about opening all combat positions to women. McCain, who is traveling overseas, was not available for comment, according to his spokesman, Brian Rogers.
