I heard that women aren't placed on the front line if they are in the army. Is this true? If so....i'm not a feminist but doesnt it seem unfair to anybody else that men should be on the front line women should not?!?!
2007-10-11 22:46:29 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Military
honestly it's because alot of women just don't have the strength to kick in doors, clear rooms, and alot of other infantry tactics...plus alot of guys just don't want to have women in infantry rolls esp since they feel that then they would have to worry more about a female in the trenches not being able to handle a difficult situation and the guys would have to not only do their job but the females job...
2007-10-12 00:35:19 · answer #1 · answered by ♥ Infantry Wife ♥ 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Its not like this has not been looked at before. I'm not sure about the British Army, but the US does put women up front, but not in certan roles, like Infantry.
Canada experamented with this in the 1980's and in the end it came down to cost effectiveness. For every class of 80 women trainees for infantry, they got 2 graduates that could pass full standards. You pay for 80, you get 2.
The other problem is with female hips. In regular basic training for the US Army, the most common injury for female trainees is hip fractures that can lead to future birth complications and even confinement to a wheelchair. That is from regular basic training, not infantry, so you are only talking about combat loads of 30 pounds or so, not 60-90 that infantry would have.
In the future as things get lighter and more technical, this may change. Right now, we are not to that point.
Women do contribute to direct combat though. They are just not the one's that kick in the doors. They provide cover which is just as important in the overall maneuver of things.
2007-10-12 06:22:18 · answer #2 · answered by mnbvcxz52773 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I think I have to get the word out or something. I work just as hard or even sometimes more than my male counterparts. To say that we female soldiers are not on the front lines is just plain wrong. I have been a few times my self and my fellow sisters go out all the time. I know a few who have been wounded. Saying we can not carry our own weight or the weight of our brothers is wrong also. For training we had to perform these exercises all the time. I don't know why we don't get any credit for being on the front lines but now I may change this. We are tired, we work hard and we do what men do. We just do get to say our job is "infantry or artillery" we are just attachments to these units. But there are women in almost every aspect of this war. It gets a little tiring hearing we are not out their fighting. We are. We are dying for our country like our brothers and I believe that our brothers would agree.
2007-10-12 09:28:56 · answer #3 · answered by niki 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I am a Marine wife and have many female marine friends I have ask this question so many times to the men and women I know simple truth is we as woman are not strong enough to pick up and help a 240 pound fallen man . and when in combat everyone including the women would be compromised if anyone of them could not preform up to par its not about equal rights its about safety and getting the job done also women would have a natural reaction to try to help the fallen or most of us would when they must be left until a corpsman gets to them also with woman on front line men would have a strong natural reaction to stop and help a wounded female and it is something that could get them all killed not to mention more Rapes and kidnappings these are the answers from both males and females that I got hope it helps
2007-10-12 08:18:25 · answer #4 · answered by Mona O 2 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Women flat out don't have the body strength to do things like ........Ohhhhhhhhh...... Hand to hand combat with a male. That would make great six o'clock news on ABC wouldn't it?
PS. Sunflower nailed it, and women are in combat directly, and in combat situations, but they aren't assigned to Infantry units, kicking doors down and clearing rooms, that will never happen, and it shouldn't be. Having said that, of course there are heroic women, receiving Bronze and Silver stars and getting into fights.
PSS. And what do ya know! I step outside my building/office to the sound of soldiers running PT. (My office is on an Army base) Soldiers from the Non Comissioned Officers Academy are doing there morning PT, and what should I see, 75 soldiers run past, and then 100 yards behind, a lone male soldier, with 3 females, and hes prodding them to catch up. I rest my case!
2007-10-12 05:54:37 · answer #5 · answered by redlegman64 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
My husband is Infantry in the US Army and they go out for months at a time with no showers, or restrooms. Now you tell me what the heck are they going to do if Pvt. Jane Doe has her period. I dont think that would work to well, she would not be able to stop every couple hours to change her tampon. There are many other issues with infantry that we could get into that most females could not handle. Get over it, women have important rolls in the mil and do a great job at those that are availble.
2007-10-12 09:11:14 · answer #6 · answered by jenn and andy v 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Females are not allowed in many combat arms jobs. There are female Apache and scout helicopter pilots, both front line aircraft. Iraq/Afghanistan happen to be front line free, or all front line depending how you look at it, so all the women-folk and men-folk are all in the mix together.
2007-10-12 06:06:37 · answer #7 · answered by jwhite_555 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It can be done. Women have natural physical disadvantages that can be overcome with enough work.
It's partly true. While few military forces in the world allow women to serve as infantry, some of them permit women in other combat corps. For instance, women serve in the Royal Artillery, manhandling howitzers and 20-40kg shells they're supposedly not strong enough to move.
2007-10-12 09:31:19 · answer #8 · answered by Gotta have more explosions! 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Oh my gosh.... there are a lot of screwed up answers to this question.
I totally agree with you that its not fair (i'm in a woman in the military)
The reason however makes sense to me.
A mans immediate response is to protect a woman and if they are worrying what might happen to the woman/women in their squad it could very well put him right in harms way.
However women are allowed to be an MP, which is a highly respected MOS, and you can still kick in doors and all that other "violent" stuff that goes with it.
2007-10-12 08:26:53 · answer #9 · answered by woofywaffles 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Women should have equal opportunity with men, but the sad fact is that women have mood swings due to changes in the hormone level during the menstrual cycle. I don"t know what the effect would be if half of the platoon in combat have their period. I can't even ask my wife to do something if she has her period, she turns into a bully from a sweet loving person.
2007-10-12 06:19:22 · answer #10 · answered by tankichay 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋