Women on the Front Line : Amberley Publishing : 9781445696843 : 1445696843 : 15 Feb 2020 : Women on the Front Line explains how women went from unacknowledged participation in combat in the Second World War to the opening of all combat roles by 2018. It explores why regular service was offered after the war; the struggle to establish careers; the first crack in the non-combatant principle - the late 1970s decision to train servicewomen in the use of small arms; why the Royal Navy was the first to open its main combat role (seagoing in warships) to women in 1990; and the consequences for the RAF and the Army. The non-combatant principle governed the number of women that could be recruited, roles they could be trained for, postings, promotion chances, pay and pensions. Being non-combatant also affected women's status in the eyes of servicemen as they could not fulfil the complete range of duties that fell to men. But women's careers were not only blighted by the principle that they were