Local military veterans said Thursday they overwhelmingly support lifting the ban to allow women to serve in direct combat roles.Defense Secretary Leon Panetta rescinded a 1994 ruling, to remove the military’s ban on women serving in combat, thus opening hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs after more than 11 years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq.The plan to integrate women into direct combat positions will be implemented as early as May, with full implementation slated by 2016.“American women have been serving in our nation’s Armed Forces for decades, and I am grateful for the sacrifices …