Success of women in combat will hinge on fairness, fitness
The historic decision to lift the ban on women in combat roles is not the end of their battle for opportunity — it is the beginning.
Now the effort shifts from granting equality to maintaining fairness as the Army executes an aggressive plan to uphold — and perhaps raise — individual standards without excluding women by default.
Women have fought with distinction in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Pentagon has, for the past year, formulated its plan to break down the barriers to allow them in direct combat roles, a plan that carries the unanimous recommendation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The goal now is to “eliminate all unnecessary gender-based barriers” and fill the entire fighting force with warriors qualified by capability, not gender, said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
Founder of humor site focuses on suicide prevention
The Army reported a record-high 182 suspected active-duty suicides for 2012. Those numbers don’t include the 126 suspected and 97 confirmed Reserve and National Guard suicides as of mid-December.
There could have been more if not for a military humor website called www.asmdss.com, short for Awesome S— My Drill Sergeant Said. Its founder is taking his social media-driven intervention process and turning it into Battle in Distress Inc., a nonprofit devoted to helping service members in crisis through a network of volunteers.
PR firm uses sexy texts in attempt to exonerate 1-star
In the eight months surrounding the time prosecutors claim Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair forced a female captain to perform oral sex on him, the couple carried out their affair while trading hundreds of text messages, many of them sexually explicit.
“Is my sexy baby sleeping?” wrote Sinclair, now accused of sexual misconduct with four other subordinates.
“Your panda is in main missing pappa panda sexy pants,” she replies, as part of the Sept. 4, 2011, exchange.
Defense attorneys see their blend of romantic and angry text messages as proof that Sinclair’s accuser was a willing participant in their sexual activity who became vindictive when Sinclair grew distant. But prosecutors argue that, in spite of the consensual nature of the affair, there were two instances of sodomy that were nonconsensual.
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The battle in distress, is an idea that was stolen from another Soldier. These soldiers are trying to take credit for. Not for long.
Two considerations plague this execution of women in more aggressive combat roles. Foremost, the frame of reference many decision makers have a frame of reference of GWOT–an operating environment certainly less austere than future combat. KBR, living trailers, and showers remain the hallmarks of current mission sets. Conducting missions in the potentially undeveloped battlefields of the future inject the likelyhood of weeks without the hygenics that better fit the anatomy design of males, better fit for meager living conditions.
Additionally exists the proposition of the draft. To what exent will this equality result? Will maternal roles–having children–serve as disqualifiers for mandatory combat candidates? Will the increasingly progressive society reject the historical precedent for male only mandatory enlistment due to more traditional female roles in a more total war scenario?
Life is very complicated at times. Many mothers/fathers raised their daughters telling them they can be anything in the world if they put there mind to it. I tell my daughters that all the time, and mean every bit of it. Many daughters that has a father figure in there life wants to be like there father, or a man that has traits like there father. My son like my oldest daughter want to be like there daddy(me) one day. I am a proud US ARMY CAVALRY SCOUT that’s has semi bias opinion on woman in combat arms.
I feel woman can make the combat world more dynamic in certain position and units. I.E. Military Intel, Military Police, Civil Affairs, and many other enablers role. I believe having them going to basic infantry training, Ranger school,RSLC, etc with same PT standards will have woman ready for when needed to be call upon in a combat role.
To be a every day 1k-15K ground and pound, 155m mortar carrying, Bradley/Tank Gunner, LRASS on hill OP is when I show bias. For the people who never serve in combat MOS, or had husbands in combat MOS or attach enalbers may or may understand how much of a beating your body takes over the years. What happens to a woman body after all the beating? What happen when she decided to have kids? Does all the wear and tear of the body over years effect her reproduction? I know all woman not going to want to have kids, but some will. Have there been studies of what happens to woman physical and biological over long period of time in this hard life?
For the woman who decide to go combat arm, don’t do it because the military is giving incentive’s to switch over. Do it because you feel you can some how can make a difference, not because you one day going for office, and it looks good on paper you was a combat scout,infantry or what ever.
Also accept some true fact that have been proving over the years like: What this life do to the body, Family life is extremely strain more, Combat guys talk, act more loosely due to we really didn’t have woman below squadron/battalion level. So accept many hardens combat guys not going to change their ways because congress said woman going into combat.
P.S. Be careful for what you ask for because you many get it.
SCOUTS OUT!!