The Pentagon has dropped some of its separate regulations for how female service members are to dress when off-base in Saudi Arabia. Previously, women were ordered to wear the abaya, a fully-covering garb similar to the Afghan burqa.
A message sent out by the Tampa-based Central Command, which runs U.S. military operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan, “directs local commanders to revise” policies to reflect that “wear of the abaya in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not mandatory but is strongly encouraged and to remove any requirement to wear civilian clothing to cover the uniform.”
Not coincidentally, the Saudis have been making noises that the US can leave any time they want, preferably sooner rather than later, though no formal request has been made (or is likely to be).
Regulations that forbid female service members from driving while off base, from sitting in the front seats of vehicles, or from leaving the base except in the company of men, have not been changed.
(Via OpinionJournal)