Why are women not allowed to serve in the frontline in the Army?

Question

Could it be that they would get emotional and would faint from seeing dead and injured bodies on the battlefield?

Or is it that they do not have the athletic abilities that men possess naturally. This can be evident in the world record differences in Athletics between Male and Females.

What do you think or know?

Technically, men can get raped too. Correct?

The reason for the less amount of deaths of Military women is because they are not at the frontline. Unlike the men which serve the frontline normally.

Answer 1

A fair question. You actually list two very good reasons. While history has shown that women can be quite vicious in certain circumstances, the question is, do they make good soldiers?

I have no problem with women serving in the armed forces. They can do jobs that free up men to fight.

I can tell you as a former Marine infantryman, that being a soldier requires some testosterone and upper-body strength. Sadly, women were not designed by God with these things in mind, (despite what you've seen in movies like "Aliens" or "G.I. Jane") Most women have a difficult time doing the things that soldiers need to be able to do.

Two other reasons are tradition; we want to protect our women as a matter of virtue, and the fact that women tend to change the behavior of men around them.

Answer 2

This is a good question, but I do have my opinions on it.

I realize that some women are as bad a** as the next guy, but not all of them are. It would be impossible and unfair to separate them out and only let/expect some to to the front, and not others.

Also, there is still the sentiment among men to protect the women. It's not necessarily an old-fashioned idea of women belong in the kitchen, it's just a subconscious fact of life for a lot of men I know. When the very first news clips came across that Jessica Lynch had been captured, the instant reaction was "They got one of our women," and the men were mad. They were less concerned about the men who were captured with her. It's hard enough on the men to see their friends hurt or killed, but it tends to be worse when they think of women being hurt. I think it tends to bring to mind their wives/girlfriends/mothers, and makes it harder for them to stomach. They can accept themselves getting hurt more than they can their loved ones.

A woman is also less likely to be able to go for a week without a shower. I know that high-stress situations can make a woman miss her mensus entirely, but if she gets one while she's on the lines, she can't really go and take care of it.

Also, and this is the thing that gets me, is if the women can't meet the same standards as the men, they shouldn't be allowed to be on the front lines. I saw on the cover of either the Army Times or the Stars and Stripes (I don't rememeber which) at the commissary on Thursday that they just raised the maximum weight limit for women, again. I do not in any way consider myself fit, but we (my husband and I) taped me one day and I would pass the limits for a 17 year old, someone 9 years my junior. Their PT requirements are also lower than what's required of men. Often women can max their PT scores by doing the minimum required of the men. I think if they want equality in the military, they should serve as such. Some women could max a male PT test, and many can't max the female test. It comes down to performance, and if they can't perform, they should stay back.

Answer 3

In what country? My friend Stephenie went into the Army at age 18 and went to Iraq, Afganistan, and Kuwait. She and her company were frontline several times. It wasn't like this even 20 years ago, but women do serve on the frontlines now. There is absolutely no reason why they shouldn't. A lot of why you don't see them frontlining much is because they are the commanders. A lot of women have their own units, battalions, etc. There are also a lot of female pilots, and, if you think about it, piloting is more dangerous than frontline fighting. You never know what's going to happen.

Answer 4

well the first thing id like to say is that women ARE on the front lines, no, they may not be infantry but there are other jobs that are very close to infantry like MPs. i served in iraq as an MP and i saw a lot of things. i was a gunner. i carried an M 249 (automatic machine gun) and a MK 19 grenade launcher, now of course i wasnt running around with the MK 19 it was mounted on my truck. i drove around patrolling the streets of baghdad for 12+ hours a day, i saw a LOT. i didnt get emotional and i didnt faint from seeing dead bodies, which i did see. this whole idea that people have that women do not serve in the front lines is wrong. there are a few reasons why women are not allowed to be in the infantry. one being that the american people wont accept it, they cant stand the idea that a woman(who they see as a mother, a sister, a daughter) would be over there killing people. the american people see women as nurturers, care givers, sweet, and gentle.another reason is that the enemy will not surrender as willingly if women are in the infantry, the enemy would be too embarrassed to be "beat by a girl" so they would not be as willing to surrender, that has been proven in history

Answer 5

It's not a women getting emotional thing... men get battle shock too. Just ask any Vietnam Vet how many of their squadmates they saw die because they froze instead of diving to the ground when the shots started.

As for athletics, true, there are plenty of buff women who could kick the average man's butt, but the men in the army get the same training so they tend to retain their physical advantage. From what I understand though, that's not the issue either.

It's the men. When a man sees anouther man die, he can remove his own emotions easier. When a man sees a woman die, he tends to start hesitating. Hesitation means death, so by putting women in the front lines, you increase the risk of the men on the frontlines due to their basic instinct to protect females.

Sorry I don't have the source on this, it's just what I heard when I was 18 and asking the person handing out the selective service cards (who was trying so hard to assure us that it wasn't REALLY registering for the draft) why women didn't have to fill it out.

Answer 6

There's a lot of reason..1...America probably couldn't handle seeing a lot of women dying. 2. If you put a female up there, some guys would feel sorry for her and put the rest of the platoon in jeopardy...a guy always looks out for a woman type of thinking. 3. The factor I feel is women are just built physically different then men..not much upper body strength..that's why the women do arm hangs on the pull-up bar and men do pull-ups...Give a woman a 70 lb. pack and add the rifle, h-harness and etc. They would just struggle. Yes, I've seen some women even in the Marines that could handle that. BUT in 20 years maybe 1 or 2. They just couldn't day-n-day out handle the physical wear. I'm sorry it's the truth. The women have jobs that put them up there already, but in an infantry unit....no way.

Answer 7

Vietnamese Women served in the front line NVA/Viet Cong army during the Vietnam war and killed just as well as males. Russian Women snipers were some of the best in history of modern warfare. There are thousands of children warriors around the world using their own AK-47s to kill their enemies so I guess it would be no problem for a full grown women. There's no way women can play NFL football but front line war they could certainly do with the right training.

Answer 8

There are a bunch of reasons. Soldiers have to carry very heavy packs of gear. Some women can do it, but many cannot. If they cannot, that means other soldiers have to carry it for her. If they can, it's still problematic because a woman's body breaks down easily under stressful/strenuous conditions. Her health and her bones would deteriorate rapidly out in the field. There are also hygeine issues to consider. Many soldiers have to go very long stretches without bathing - and for women, that's not an option. She would be very likely to get a yeast infection, and out in the field, that can make her very sick very fast.

Answer 9

Women don't have enough testosterone
Men turn to mush when in the presence of a woman.
Or they get all heroic and get killed
Men are more easily distracted when around woman.

I think we should have a whole brigade of women, then arrange for the active ones to always be PMS
Let the enemy beware

Answer 10

Chory T:

It is because American honors and respects womanhood, and do not believe that women should be subjected to the horror of combat.

However some military women serving in support roles, such as Truck Drivers, Helicopter Pilots, etc. do at times find themselves in combat situations.