Nearly half a year after the Persian Gulf War, one victory is certain. Women have won the right to assume limited combat roles. It is fitting recognition of the patriotism, courage and competence demonstrated by the 35,000 American women who served in the armed forces during the Mideast conflict.

Despite the expanding presence and role of women in the military, combat duty has been exclusively male. That's outdated, archaic and inefficient.

Congress finally has recognized this. The Senate voted overwhelmingly last week to repeal a 43-year-old law that bars women from piloting Navy and Air Force aircraft in combat missions. The House of Representatives previously passed the measure. Defense Secretary Dick Cheney has indicated no opposition.

WOMEN PILOTS: Reps. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) and Beverly B. Byron (D-Md.), joined by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and William V. Roth Jr. (R-Del.), led the fight to repeal the 1948 Combat Exclusion Act. The law, which prohibits combat roles for female pilots in the Air Force and Navy, was enacted after World War II in response to public demand for a reduced role for women. The Army is not subject to the law but has its own rules that keep women from flying in combat.

Despite the Senate action, women still face the barrier against ground combat. Recognizing this, the Senate, in a separate action, voted to allow women in all military branches to fill any combat role on a trial 14-month basis while a commission studies lifting all combat bans.

Women have participated, in some way, in every American military campaign since the Revolutionary War. But with the end of the draft in 1973 and the shift to all-volunteer forces, the number of women in military jobs has increased dramatically. Today, 225,000, or 11%, in the armed services are women--about 1,000 of them Air Force and Navy pilots. The military has made various accommodations for women, ranging from child care to separate physical standards. The one notable closed door has been combat.

In the Gulf War, women made up 6% of U.S. troops. Although they technically could not be assigned to combat roles, women ferried food, fuel and troops into battle zones. Eleven women lost their lives and two were taken prisoner. Women provided support services in equipment maintenance, operated communication equipment and developed and provided intelligence. Their Persian Gulf duties were nearly identical to men's, except for combat.