Ahead of the Super Bowl XLVII matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, President Barack Obama sat down with CBS News' Scott Pelley for an interview.
During the live discussion, Obama addressed women in combat.
“Women as a practical matter are now in combat,” Obama said. “They have carried out their jobs with extraordinary patriotism and distinction."
Obama's remarks come days after the Pentagon lifted its ban on women in combat, opening hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs.
Obama said women soldiers are already vulnerable to attack and they've been wounded and killed carrying out their jobs. He said they are taking great risks should not be prevented from advancing in their careers.
The change overturns a 1994 rule prohibiting women from being assigned to smaller ground combat units, and is expected to open up more than 230,000 combat positions that have been off limits to women.
Obama gives an interview to the network that airs the Super Bowl every year. Katie Couric, Bill O'Reilly and Matt Lauer are some of the people who've sat down to speak with the president before the big event.
Watch Obama's interview with Scott Pelley above.
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