Iraq veteran Alma Felix hopes the U.S. military’s new rules to open hundreds of thousands of combat jobs to women will lead society to recognize that female troops can be courageous warriors.

The 27-year-old Army veteran says that women have proven themselves over the past decade in Iraq and Afghanistan and have come home with the feeling that few know of their contributions.

She says female soldiers tend to disappear into the background.

Across the country, members of the military of both sexes said they accept the new policy so long as women will have to meet the same standards as their male colleagues.

Others believe the public may not be ready to handle seeing more female troops come home in body bags or with lost limbs.