Women now allowed to serve in combat roles: Your take
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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced Thursday that the military will lift its ban on women serving in combat roles, which will open about 230,000 posts, including those on the front lines.
“Women have shown great courage and sacrifice on and off the battlefield, contributed in unprecedented ways to the military’s mission and proven their ability to serve in an expanding number of roles,” Panetta said at a Pentagon news conference. “The department’s goal in rescinding the rule is to ensure that the mission is met with the best-qualified and most capable people, regardless of gender.”
Military service chiefs unanimously support the change, which reflects the realities of the modern military, said Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“The Joint Chiefs share a common cause on the need to start doing this now and to doing this right,” Dempsey said. “We are committed to a purposeful and principled approach.”
President Obama said Thursday he supported Panetta’s decision.
Do you agree with the decision? Should women be allowed to serve in combat?
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Now that this is fact physical requirements for entry to any training regimen should be frozen. Other than that if it reflects much situational reality it’s a good thing.
It’s my understanding that to serve in a combat position, any solder must pass some relatively tough tests of strength and conditioning. It is also my understanding that women must pass the same tests. If they can pass the tests they should be able to serve, period, and we should be grateful for their service.
You are mistaken. The military has PT (physical training) standards for all members. However, there are two different scales, one for women and one for men. As someone who’s been there done that, I have no problem with woman in combat. In fact, woman can serve as MP’s (Military Police) and were conducting combat patrols in Iraq. My only gripe is that there should be one PT scale. If two people are going to do the same job, they should have the same testing and qualifications.
I don’t want to be confrontational. I just ask for you to cite a source that confirms your claim that there are two PT scales.
I understand the Israeli Army uses females in combat due to the shortage of men. My concern is that when American women get captured by the enemy in a combat situation the screams you hear from the POW camp won’t be for equality
Women have every thing it takes to be great soldiers. They excell under all kinds of conditions and I believe display a higher pain tolerance than most men. They sure are much meaner, too. j/k…kind of. Are we out of men?
The problem is, if women get captured and held hostage they inevitably will be raped. Our enemies like to be displayed cutting American men’s heads off. What would they show being done to women? I say this is a mistake. Women deserve better not equal treatment.
The ‘rape argument’ is just an example of benevolent sexism. It could be argued that women are at greater risk of being raped on school campuses as well… however I’ve never heard anyone argue that women should not attend university.
In addition, sexual violence against women is higher in the U.S. military than in the general population, so maybe they should fear their comrades more than the ‘enemy’.
Chaim. Written like a true womens libber, As a 24 year military veteran and Armed Forces Recruiter I had one of the highest percentage of female recuits in our region. When you compare women in combat to women in the Armed Forces and in college you are comparing apples to oranges. Not the same circumstance /situation. As Jason pointed out women have and will get to show their metal in defense of our country. I for one and many more will not have the stomach for it…Have a nice day .
I love how all of those who’ve never served in COMBAT have such an EDUCATED opinion on what happens in the field. I am all for empowering the women, and know plenty who will pass the tests and be great warriors in the chaos of battle. I also know those same women face the possiblity of being raped by our own soldiers. I also know that any who are captured will be brutally raped, continously, until they are dead, or to be kept alive just to keep doing so. Again… the life of combat is something the protected will never know, and NEVER understand. WE like to keep it that way… as no one I care about should know the horrors that we faced. I dont know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, we will have great heros, and tragic deaths… But I can tell you, there will be a price on this, and the general public cannot comprehend this price.
It could be argued that a member of Doctors of the World, or even Doctors Without Borders, know MORE about the atrocities of war than a soldier. But that would be off topic and based on opinion.
First off I’d like to say its about time. I know many woman who can do just as much if not more than any man. Equal opportunity should also require an equal test of skills to qualify. I’d also like to think that if the draft was brought back that woman should be equally called up too. (<– I really hope that never happens again.)
When we start registering women for the draft, as will be forthcoming, lets see what the general feeling will be. I think we were down this road before back in the 1990′s. Equal opportunity also means equal responsibility.
What is being left out of this discussion is the role of women, serving as military support or in the military, at the front lines, in combat zones in virtually every war this nation has fought.
Up through the mid 19th century, the wives and children of soldiers followed their men, often into battle. They were cooks, medics, nurses. They also served as “runners”, running up and down the front lines delivering water, powder, ammunition
From the Revolutionary War:
Mary Ludwig Hays, better known as “Molly Pitcher”
Margaret Corbin, wife of arilleryman John Corbin, took over his cannon when he was killed, taken prisoner Battle of Ft Washington 1776
Deborah Sampson who served as aide-de-camp for General John Patterson under the name “Robert Shurtleff”
War of 1812:
US Marine Lucy Brewer serving under the name “George Baker”
Mexican War:
Sarah Borginis enlisted with her husband in 1846. Gen Zachary Taylor made her a colonel
Civil War:
Women disguising themselves as men and enlisting was not uncommon. An estimated 400 women enlisted and fought. Among them Florena Boyd, Union, who was captured and died in Andersonville. Women also served as spies for both sides. One of these, Pauliine Cushman, was granted the rank of Major by President Lincoln
Spanish American War:
1500 women served as army nurses but not with military status. They sickened and died of fever just like the men
WW I:
Women were allowed to enlist and served as nurses and clerical support. One of these, Edith Cavell, was captured by the Germans and executed as a spy
WW II
This war has the highest number of American military women hald as POWs. Lt Reba Whittle, army nurse, shot down over France, taken prisoner 1944. nearly 90 American army and navy nurses were held in Japanese POW camps.
Korean War:
About 4000 American military women served as administartive and medical support
Vietnam:
The number of women serving was approximately 10,000. One woman, Monika Schwinn, a German nurse, spent three and a hlf years at Hanoi Hilton
We’re more familiar with the Persian Gulf and Iraq Wars.
Women taken as prisoners:
Persian Gulf
Maj Rhonda Cornum
Spec Melissa Coleman
Iraq
Pfc Jessica Lynch
Spc Shoshana Johnson
With regard to the fears expressed by Jay Reece, Ernest Rimrodt, Jason Chrzan, I have yet to find any reference to American military women taken prisoner being routinely raped much less raped to death