What Can Female Soldiers Do?

[Kire]

What Can Female Soldiers Do?
A primer on the latest wrangling over women in the military.
By Daniel Engber


In the line of fire?
The House Armed Services Committee approved a bill to codify Defense Department policy on women in the military. If passed, the bill would exclude women from units that participate in direct ground combat and would require the military to seek congressional approval before easing current restrictions. What have female soldiers been doing in Iraq, and will this bill change anything?

Women soldiers serve as engineers, truck drivers, communications specialists, and military police officers, as well as in many other supporting roles. They are trained to defend themselves, they carry weapons, and their support units can work closely with ground combat units. They are not allowed to serve on the front lines, though.

In 1992, Congress repealed existing laws on the role of women in the military. Secretary of Defense Les Aspin then eased administrative restrictions by issuing 1994's "Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule." Before the mid-1990s, women in the Army could only serve in positions that carried almost no risk of combat, like those based at military headquarters. But under Aspin's directive, women could fill any position in the military except those directly involved in ground combat on the front lines. Pentagon rules also prohibit women from taking jobs that "collocate routinely" (i.e., tend to move around) with direct combat units.

More: http://slate.msn.com/id/2119241/?GT1=6442

[wakeme2008]

1. It's getting very Drafty for males

One take on this bill would have the Pentagon pull ALL females from Iraq just to be "safe". If that would happen, the Army is in big trouble.


Just IMHO...

[RC]

2. This seems to me to be sex discrimination.

Maybe the men should not be on the front lines or under fire either.

[lukasahero]

3. No argument there. eom

[Kire]

4. Republican lawmakers retreat from plans to restrict the roles of women`

G.I. Jane kicks some GOP ass

On Wednesday, Republican lawmakers retreated from plans to restrict the roles of women serving in Iraq. The plan, led by House Armed Services Committee chair, Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, had sought to codify a 1994 Pentagon policy that barred women from serving in most direct combat roles.

"The policy, based on Cold War-era concepts of warfare, was rendered partly moot by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan who do not distinguish between troops on front lines and those on theoretically safer missions elsewhere, such as escorting cargo convoys," the Los Angeles Times explained. "Women now serve as gunners atop Humvees on perilous Iraqi streets. Hunter was particularly concerned that women were allowed to serve in armored Stryker vehicles that are used in combat situations."

The plan to scale back women's service was shot down by opposition ranging from the Secretary of the Army to the American Civil Liberties Union, as well as Democrats and some members of Hunter's own party. "At a time when our armed forces are overstretched, we shouldn't be turning away people who want to serve their country," Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher, a Democrat from California, told the Los Angles Times. "Invoking the names of two female soldiers captured by Iraqi insurgents and later freed, she added, 'This step is a slap in the face to the Jessica Lynches and Shoshana Johnsons of our military, who served our nation ably and nobly.'"

More: http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/archive.html?blog=/politics/war_room/2005/05/26/military_women/index.html

[Senior citizen]

5. Compare the death rates between female military and female civilians

in any modern war, and you'll see instantly that it is far safer for a female to be in the military.

[TaleWgnDg]

6. "Restricting" women from combat is a fallacy!

.
"Restricting" women from combat is a fallacy! Why is it a fallacy? Because the so-called "front line" of combat is no more! Instead, "insurgents" attack any military (male or female) personnel, any where, and at any time; thereby, including women, not restricting women.

Does this further "restrictive" U.S. military policy mean that women will not be trained in combat? How stupid is this? If the Pentagon intends to "restrict" women from combat training, the conclusion would only mean one thing: more female miltary deaths and injuries.

Can we say "duh?" Can we also say that this is more of George Walker Bush's junk science? Indeed.





.

[Hello_Kitty]

7. This country has the luxury of being paternalistic

Toward women with respect to being in combat. Ask the women in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Rwanda, the Sudan, Iraq, or numerous other war-torn hellholes about that. They were, or are, under constant siege. At risk of being shot, bombed, and raped. They don't get to ask "Gee, should women be on the front lines?" because they ARE on the front lines, fighting for the survival of themselves and their families.

[Swamp Rat]

8. Maybe feamle soldiers can strive for and achieve peace,

because the men in charge are really fucking things up.

[cap]

9. Obey the new law to the letter and watch the military in Iraq implode

or force the draft. When men start getting killed because stuff isnt getting done, things will change. Either we will get a draft which will force a national consensus on military operations or women will get the standing that they deserve.

[WildClarySage]

10. Actually, the draft is what this is all about.

They want to be sure that Americans won't protest a draft on the basis that their daughters are being killed, because they'll take the females out of combat areas. Boys, on the other hand, have always been expected to make the ultimate sacrifice for God and Country, and Joe Average Conservative American will expect his son to be tough and deal with being drafted. Try to get his daughter drafted to risk HER life though, and he will be pissed. This is necessary, for when the draft is reinstated, someone will challenge the constitutionality of a male-only draft and it will not fly.

[Hello_Kitty]

11. True

There is also the embarassment that your typical chickenhawk freeper experiences at the prospect of women fighting in a war he's too cowardly to fight.