In your personal opinion to what extent should women be allowed to fight in military combat?

Question

If you have a very out lined opinion and it is justifiable please contact me at [e-mail]

Answer 1

Boy this is a tough one. As a father to a young daughter I want her to have all the opportunities that my son has. But I really don't think women should be on the front lines during war.

Here's my arguements (and I'm going to put them here, not email you):

1. Men love to be the protector of women. If there is a woman in a platoon of men, I worry about that the men in the platoon would be more worried about protecting her then doing there job. I know this isn't a fair arguement to make because it's not the woman's fault. And I also know that not all men will think this way...but some will. This is the same reason that I don't think brothers should be allowed to be in the same platoon.

2. The whole sexual attraction thing. Men, while fighting in war, do not need this added distration. Again, not fair to women, but there.

3. Pregnancy. What do you do if a woman gets pregnant during while at war? You know as well as I do it will happen. Does she have an out from the front lines? What if the platoon is boxed in like some forces were during the Battle of the Bulge during WWII? How do you get her out of harms way when she's with a child?

All in all, being on the front line in war is a different beast then any other career field. I think this is the one area that men should be solely responsible for. Here is a thought for you: if women are allowed to be on the front lines during battle, then they should also be available for the draft. This would be a HUGE problem in this country.

Answer 2

I believe that women are capable of serving in a combat situation, as long as it is not in a sustained environment such as Infantry, Artillery, Cav, Armor, or Combat Engineers. Infantry, even in Mech units have to hump a lot of weight, prepare fighting positions, pull patrols, pull security, all on a very limited amount of sleep. Armor and Cav would probably be the closest to a combat job suited for a woman. Not saying that Armor and Cav units are any less men for being in that job. I have worked a lot with Armor and Cav units, and am impressed with their professionalism. I am a firm believer that no one job or branch can survive without each others support. Artillery is a tough job, and I love those guys. They have helped me out on more than one occasion. They have been known to work so long, fire so many rounds they literally break the hydraulics on their guns, over heat the barrels, etc.
My point is this: Maybe 5 per cent of all women could hold up under the physical aspect of these jobs. Also, a personal hygiene issue arises.
Any type of pilot, whether rotary or fixed wing aircraft would be more along the line for women in combat.

Answer 3

Women are not allowed to fight in military combat. However, they find themselves in situations where they have to protect themselves and others in order to do their jobs, and thus are trained to fight. We are allowed into the military for the same reasons as men, to fight for our country. Do you have a justifiable reason for asking this question or do you not believe that women are equal to men?

Answer 4

It's a moot point. I'm not going to quote the historical precedents involving women going to war, since they have been doing that ever since there have been wars.

As far as I'm concerned, if a women can be killed by a bomb landing on her house miles behind the front line, she can just as well be killed by a bomb on the front line while firing at an enemy (or doing whatever).

Answer 5

I have known females who have handled combat and excelled in areas of physical training that have far exceeded their male counterparts. I think that females should be allowed every opportunity as males. And it should be to the same standards. No exceptions. It is not the military, but a Congressional mandate that prohibits females to be assigned to ground combat units whose mission it is to directly engage the enemy.

EDIT: In reference to the issues of emotions, moodiness, PMS and pregnancy:
Emotion - The excuse that females are more emotional than males, in my opinion is a load of cr @ p. I have seen men breakdown in the middle of combat. I know of a male Soldier with 14 years in the Army that broke down a minute or so after we received some small arms fire. And not knowing if it was over, he just sat down on some steps and just repeated "I can't take this anymore." Everyone handles their emotions differently. Some can control them; some can’t.

Moodiness - If you ask my wife, she would probably say I am the moodiest person she knows; especially if I go more than 5 to 6 hours without eating. And I have had to go without eating numerous times. Mood swings can be dealt with.

PMS - I personally have never experienced it. I have served with females in the past and I have never seen one let PMS get in the way of the mission. I have known females who have had problems with PMS, but they were not in the military. Again, I think it is just another excuse.

Pregnancy - When my unit got word that we would deploy to Saudi Arabia in support of Desert Shield in 1990, a female medic, in the Battalion that my Recon Team was attached, decided she didn't want to deploy and thought that if she got pregnant she wouldn't have to. We got our orders at the beginning of November, 1990, and it wasn't until the 2nd week in February, 1991, that she got pregnant. She became the Battalion sex toy. She didn't care who she did it with as long as they did what was necessary to knock her up. She still deployed and had to be evacuated once she was pregnant. For 3-1/2 months she was a moral booster. She had no place in the Army. This is just one bad story, the "Bad Apple" if you will.
My previous unit, a Military Intelligence Company (MICO), was about 40 percent female. When I became the Executive Officer (XO) there were 5 pregnant females. When I left 8 months later there were 5 pregnant females. Everyone was and still is a fine Soldier. Their ranks went from PFC (Private Fist Class (E-3)) to SSG(P) (Staff Sergeant Promotable (E-6)). Not all the pregnancies were planned, but many were. They knew our deployment schedule and planned accordingly. They knew the Army and their unit needed them, but they weren't going to let that stop them from living their lives and starting a family. They took the appropriate steps, got their Family Readiness Packets in order, they made the necessary arrangements for their children. Most of them are currently deployed. Their children are either with their husbands or with their parents. Every one of them stayed in the Army.
The Army is a family and you can't stop being family because of combat. Soldiers are human. And you have to deal with human issues. Having sex and getting pregnant in a combat zone is not a good thing. If you have well disciplined Soldiers you won’t have that issue. It is a matter of having a strong understanding command that is willing to hold its Soldiers accountable.

Answer 6

I'll make it easy for you: I have served with women in combat, and can attest to the fact that they can - and do - complete the task as well as any man. What more justification do you need?

Answer 7

How many times/days are you going to ask the same question with different wording?

Answer 8

Not sure about this. Women are more emotional, what if she has PMS out there? I'm not joking.

Answer 9

if they can do EVERYTHING that a male of the same age is expected to do, then let 'em. No special passes for gender.

Answer 10

The same as a man. if their pay is the same their job should be the same.