US ARMY:WOMEN SET TO JOIN THE COMBAT TROOPS

For women who have already seen combat, it is a decision that is well overdue. But for the skeptics, it is a setback that will damage the military.

The Pentagon's reported decision to lift the ban on women in combat units will take time to put into effect, but many former service members are lauding reports that the Defense Department will make the change soon.

"We have an all-volunteer force, and I think that this opens up a pool of folks who could serve in these positions," said Rep. Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who lost both legs and the use of one arm when her helicopter crew was shot down in 2004.

"Any time that we've opened up our military to performance-based service ... we've benefited as a military. This is good for the nation."

The new policy will be implemented over the next three years, and some units may apply for exemptions, a senior defense official told CNN.

Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, said the military should open up every unit to women and see if they can complete the required training.

"If the women can't meet the standards, they don't get to graduate from the program."

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Hawaii Democrat who served with her state's National Guard in Iraq, said the move is a "major step that is long overdue."

Interviewed by CNN's Soledad O'Brien, Gabbard said it's a "great recognition ... of all the women who are currently serving overseas, many of them in these combat type situations already."

Gabbard was asked whether the move is merely semantics because front lines are constantly shifting and disappearing in today's world, and women already have been in combat situations.

"I think so," Gabbard said. "When we look at, for example, two women, the first two women who earned Silver Stars since World War II, one was a military police sergeant, another was a medic. And they both were operating on the front lines per se, under fire, under extreme duress, shoulder to shoulder with their male and female counterparts, and exhibiting great courage and heroism and saving the lives of their brothers and sisters."

Julie Weckerlein, who has served more than 13 years in the Air Force and did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, thinks the change reflects the military catching up with the times.

Some women have already gone on patrols with ground troops, helping to talk with female civilians in Afghanistan. Some submarine crews have added female officers. Women also serve as military police officers.