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Poll: Nearly 3 in 4 like women in combat roles

Nearly three-fourths of registered voters want women in combat roles in the military, a new poll says.

Seventy-four percent support letting women take combat roles — with 44 percent “strongly” backing it — according to the Morning Consult survey released Thursday.

{mosads}Fifty-five percent of voters aged 18–29 years old “strongly” support the move, with another 20 percent “somewhat” backing it.

Older voters are more hesitant, with only 63 percent of voters over 65 years old “strongly” or “somewhat” supporting women in combat roles, and 33 percent opposing.

Morning Consult conducted its survey of 2,001 registered voters from May 19 to 23. It has a 2 percentage point margin of error.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced in March he had finalized plans to integrate women into all military positions nationwide.

“When I announced my decision back in December to open all career fields to qualified women, I emphasized that the implementation of this change must be handled the right way, because the combat effectiveness of the world’s finest fighting force is paramount,” he said in a statement.

“Having reviewed this exceptionally thorough work, I am pleased all of the services developed plans that will effectively carry out this change and make us even better in the future.”