![](http://www.alamy.com/thumbs/6/EE35A7A0-6CE8-4422-9ABE-E1BC12881522/E0BYA5.jpg)
emale driver and two male comrades infont of there truck during a training exercise before they go to Afghanistan
Women have long contributed to the military service, but their efforts have often been have played a vital role in the Armed Forces since at least the Second World War, when they were employed in a wide variety of roles, many of which exposed them to extreme danger. After the War, it was recognised that women continued to have an important role to play in the Armed forces, and the ìWomenís Servicesî were permanently established. The early 1990s saw the most dramatic peacetime changes in their duties, with women serving in surface ships, as aircrew for the first time, and also in a much greater range of posts in the Army. Around the same time, women's roles were fully into the three main Service branches ñ the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force ñ and the separate Womenís Services were abolished (the Womenís Royal Air Force was never a separate Service, although the use of the term was discontinued). Today, the contribution of Servicewomen to the combat effectiveness of the Armed Forces is essential. More women are serving in a greater variety of posts than ever before, many of them front line.
Size: 3184px × 2120px
Location: Salisbury Plain Training Area,Salisbury
Photo credit: © andrew chittock / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: army, afghanistan, andrew, army, beautiful, british, chittock, combatant, corp, corps, dress, driver, female, front, line, logistics, medical, military, photographer, roy, royal, sa80, solde, solder, truck, uniform, war, warzone, women