Concerning women in the military....?

Question

Currently, women aren't allowed to fufill direct combat roles in the U.S. military (not to say women are never exposed to combat). People who support this and people who object to this have each have made lengthy arguments propagating their respective positions.

However, possibly the most compelling reason I have heard for not allowing women to serve in combat roles is the possibility of a woman not possessing sufficient strength to evacuate a wounded male comrade, or complete other vital strength-related tasks in combat situations.

Would it be a good idea to simply eliminate the far lower women's physical fitness requirements and allow women into combat roles if they could fufill the standard male solider's physical fitness requirements?

Answer 1

Yes. This would ensure that only the best are getting in, and that there is no systematic s*x discrimination on either side.

Answer 2

Women in combat roles put stress on male soldiers. To stress out men at the worst time because whiny girls need to have their way is ridiculous.

There are plenty of non combat positions in the military, women should stick to these.

Answer 3

The truth is, and this is what I heard from a retired female officer, the vast majority of modern warfare is not related to heavy-lifting, and front-line, on-the-ground fighting is much less relevant to the actual function of the service than technological services.

In terms of heavy lifting, they invented the fireman carry for a reason. In our volunteer army there are plenty of guys who are younger, smaller, and weaker than others, guys who may be put in the position of carrying the body of their heavy-set 250 lb linebacker buddy (plus however many pounds of gear the two combined are wearing) out of the line of fire. How do you think these guys do it? With a bit of strength training and a solid knowledge of leverage, I don't believe a qualified woman should have much trouble with the heavy lifting.

Essentially I'm agreeing with you. There should be one standard, and any woman who matches that standard should be free to get out there and defend her country.

Answer 4

Empirical Data is showing that exposure to Combat and its stresses are much harder on Women than Men. The number of Soldiers needing Medical assistance for PTSD is much higher percentage wise in Women than in Men. Even though Women are involved in Direct Action far less.

The other issue is Mission readiness. Women are down more for injuries related to combat. And have less Cardiovascular capacity than Men. Also direct combat is brutal. Women in a bayonet fight or Close Quarters Combat are at a major disadvantage. In addition in the Iraqi Theater of Operation. Captured Women are subject to severe Sexual Abuse. This happened to Private Jessica Lynch and details were withheld from the American Public.

If Sexual Harassment is an issue, how does Gang Rape measure up by the Enemy? This is a common tactic by the Insurgents of captured Women. Ugly but true.

Women in the Military seeking Mental Health Services due to PTSD is much higher than Males seeking help.

Answer 5

My husband, who is active duty, has mentioned this on more than one occasion.  He is someone who would completely support this idea.  He's all for women being able to serve, but it does seem strange that many activities are "modified," for them....as far as his particular branch of service is concerned.

That being said...my mom served 13 years in the AF.  Her 5 foot something self would probably not have met the physical requirements if they were the same as the males.  However, her contribution in her field was incredibly valuable.  I'm afraid if we went ahead with this, we might be closing the door on some women that would be of great value in the service.

I suppose to make everyone happy, we would have to come to some sort of compromise....if the woman is willing to serve in combat, or work in a field...like infantry...then she would need to compete physically alongside men.  For others who would never see combat, the rules would differ.  Not sure...

Tough one...interesting question.