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Role of women in military combat roles
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Role of women in military combat roles
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The Problem
The problem with the United States Armed Forces is that women are not allowed in combat. Not including women in the combat policy will not strengthen the Armed Forces but will weaken them. Women in the combat are a controversial topic. During the several wars, women were used in a many capacities, including nursing, spying, supplying and maintaining camps, as well as the occasional combat activity as necessary. The controversy of today has a lot to do with the role of women in combat, and how their presence will impact male soldiers. There have been very few women in history that is given credit for being a war hero. Why should a man always be the hero when a woman is capable of doing the job as well? For many years women have been have been doing the job for a lot longer than that, but never got the credit they deserved. This problem affects everyone because it decreases morale. This problem is not getting any better. Women train in the same manner as the men, but never get to use their training. This is a fraud, waste and abuse, and a definite waste of money. Throughout history, women had to fight for equal rights. For example, the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified and women won the right to vote. The civil rights movements of the 1960s inspired a second wave of keen activism confronting the inequities women faced in virtually all areas of American life. State and federal laws were passed outlawing discrimination in employment and education, and women responded to their new opportunities with enthusiasm. This is a form of discrimination. As a woman I am angry about the fact that women are not assigned to combat duty equally with men.
Throughout history women have already proven themselves...
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...ut the idea of marriage and having children before they go into combat. While combat is dangerous, it does not mean that everyone that goes will be killed, but options still need to be weighed. The U.S. should just be like Nike and do it. Everyone thought allowing African Americans in the armed forces would divide the military, but it has not. No one ever thought that the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” would work, but as long as no one asked and no one told there was not a problem. People thought the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” repeal would also be disastrous, but there having openly gay people in the military has not been a problem either. The U.S. should stop beating around the bush and allow women into combat. Perhaps our country could be a bench mark for other countries to allow women into combat. This will not only strengthen our country morally but militarily as well.
The military is trying to find new ways to recognize the fact that women now fight in the country’s wars. In 2011 the Military Leadership Diversity Commission recommended that the Department of Defense remove all combat restrictions on women. Although many jobs have been opened for women in the military, there is still 7.3 percent of jobs that are closed to them. On February 9, 2012, George Little announced that the Department of Defense would continue to reduce the restrictions that were put on women’s roles. The argument that “women are not physically fit for combat” is the most common and well-researched justification for their exclusion from fighting units. It has been proven if women go through proper training and necessary adaptations, they can complete the same physical tasks as any man. Though there seem to be many reasons from the exclusion of women in the military, the main ones have appeared to be that they do not have the strength to go through combat, would be a distraction to the men, and that they would interrupt male bonding and group
Women should be allowed in combat roles in the armed forces because they are just as capable as men. To begin, women such as Shaye Haver and Kristen Griest, graduates of the Fort Benning Ranger School, have shown that they can meet the same physical requirements as men. Nevertheless, these women still weren’t allowed to serve in combat positions despite the rigorous training they completed that involved grueling obstacles they had to complete all while carrying 100-pound gear. Does that make any sense to you? It didn’t to me and it certainly didn’t to women like Sgt. Patricia A. Bradford who said “If you have to be able to lift a certain amount of weight in order to do a certain job, then the weight is not going to know whether you’re male or female.” (Women at Arms: On the Ground.). In fact, in some instances women have proved to be even more
...traight men and women. The three key topics that we need to read and understand carefully are how the military life would change if gays and lesbians were in the military. Also we need to look at the interaction with the gays and lesbians and determine if the cohesion is good or is there no cohesion at all. Lastly we need to take a look at how other countries would view us and see how they would react if we did make the decision to put gays and lesbians in the military.
Many women during WWII experienced things that they had never done before. Before the war began women were supposed to be “perfect”. The house always had to be clean, dinner ready on the table, laundry done, and have themselves as well as their children ready for every event of the day. Once the war began and men were drafted, women had to take on the men’s role as well as their own. Women now fixed cars, worked in factories, played baseball, handled the finances, and so forth. So, what challenges and opportunities did women face on the home front during WWII? Women had many opportunities like playing baseball and working, they also faced many hardships, such as not having enough food, money, and clothing.
With society’s past and present it is apparent that women are still not equal even if they have the title. Men are observably stronger and have a different mentality in situations than women. This is not to say that women should not be in the military but they should have the choice that way they can accept the responsibility and train themselves mentally and physically to achieve the responsibility and respect needed to fight for our country.
Historically, women have been excluded from combat roles. On the surface, it is because men, who have always thought of themselves better and stronger than women, believed that females could not handle the responsibility of holding a combat position and women are rupturing the socially constructed gender norms that were set in place. According to Nicole Dombrowski, “no other topic concerning women’s role in war creates as great a debate as the question of women’s active participation in combat units.” The benefits for the expansion of women’s roles in the military advantage not only the women but the military as well. In comparison, the drawbacks of expansion of women’s roles are usually disadvantages to the men within the military.
During WWII, the initial acceptance of woman in the military was controversial because they were deciding whether just needed more people, whether they should be an official part of the services, and whether they could perform the jobs. Most people were concerned that women would obstruct the view of American culture because they would be considered “masculine”. By 1944, women proved to be effective in helping during the war. Some were even trained to shoot guns next to the men. In 1994 the DOD (Department of Defense) created a policy that prevented women from combat with their male colleagues. They also could not be assigned to units below the brigade level, whose number one objective is combat on ground. Over the years women have showed that they are physically, mentally, and emotionally able to keep up with men in the military.
Historically, women’s participation in combat roles was limited or hidden, with the exception of a few individuals. Although women had fought unofficially in the U.S army as far back as the Revolutionary War, which they usually disguised themselves as men in order to avoid the rules that excluded them. The gender war and integration in the military has always faced the question of social acceptance, were as society can accept how women will be treated and respected in the military. Throughout the history of the military, our leadership has always sought ways of how to integrate without upsetting the general public to believing that women are capable and created equal as any man.
Like with any modern point of contention, it is important to understand the history. Since as early as the revolutionary war, women have been active participants in the U.S. military. From nursing soldiers to cross-dressing and actually fighting, women have played a crucial
Throughout the years, homosexuals have been the targets of embarrassment, harassment, and criticism from society. The most dominant and publicized way this is shown is by the ban on gays and lesbians in the military. We are one of few countries that forbid homosexuals to serve in their country’s armed forces. Germany, Japan, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Norway, Denmark, Spain, and many other dominant countries in the world allow and encourage everyone in their culture to fight for their country. (Hogan and Hudson 185) We are actually hurting our country’s military by forcing possible volunteers to stay home and watch the news when they could be fighting for our country, just because of their sexuality. It is so ridiculous that letters are sent out to recruit U.S. men to fight in the army, but they wouldn’t accept you if you are not a...
Many agree, that in certain military occupations, women can function at the same level as men. The controversy about having women fighting with men in wars is the fact that they have a different physical structure, deal with stress and emotions differently , are more susceptible to injury and just don't have the killer instinct necessary to get the job done. Although the last statement might appear to be a stereotype, most women would not be capable of supporting the demanding rigors of war-like situations. It would be a great mistake to allow women in these stressful and dangerous situations.
World War 1 had a massive effect on women in society. Their lives drastically changed in a short amount of time. In fact with this change came plenty of responsibility, and a great deal of both physically and psychologically demanding work. This responsibility is what made women more confident and self-satisfied, which later on led them to fight harder for their rights.
“After more than a half-decade operating in a favorable recruiting environment that allowed the U.S. military to be increasingly selective and to meet most recruitment goals, the new environment is “likely to become significantly less fertile in the near future,” according to a new summary report released by CNA” (Wagner). In the near future some have predicted that we are slowly needing more recruiment, and not reached the maximum of what we need for our military. If we took the right from LGBT individuals to not be able to serve in the military that would be harming us more than anything by limiting our recruitment
It shows how differently military women are being treated from men. Many agree that it isn’t very fair. Which leads to the question of why aren't women sent to defend their own country? Why only men? Unfortunately, no one has an answer to that.
Should women be allowed in the military? My answer was at first a resounding “no.” However, once I started my research, my opinion changed. In 1948, Congress passed the combat exclusion law that prohibited women in the Air Force, Marines, and Navy to hold combat positions; however, the Army can assign these duties as they see fit (Schroeder). Some people assume that Americans are not ready to see a woman wounded or killed in war; however, there are female police officers that are wounded or killed daily (Schroeder). How can we rationalize that a woman has the right to die protecting our local communities but not our country? If a person chooses to be in a combat field, and can pass the physical demands required, gender should not be an issue. The arguments of physical differences and cohesion among the troops are valid arguments but not substantial enough to prevent women from serving in frontline combat roles within the military.