Equality?
Not for Military Women

As you know, America has always strived to be the land of equality; a land where men and women of every race, religion, and belief can come together and pursue any goal they desire. It is common knowledge that America did not start as the fine symbol of equality it has today. Racism, sexism, and various other forms of discrimination have not been absent in this nations history. However, throughout the years this country has proven that its government and its people will not stand for such acts. Our government has put a stop to public discrimination in all of its forms, or has it? This is true in nearly every occupation except one. Yes it is true; our great country has not yet achieved true equality. The last blight on this nations reputation stands in the United States Military, where women continue to be barred from serving in a combat MOS. Current policy states that women are restricted from participating in direct combat units such as infantry, armor, field artillery, and Special Forces. However, this policy is out of date and therefore needs revision.

There are many myths and misconceptions surrounding this subject, all of which are either untrue or easily overcome. Many believe that men are protective; that seeing a woman injured would be damaging to a male, and women would damage male camaraderie. In todays society, men regularly compete with women in almost all jobs. This makes males more inclined to accept a woman and even to have that camaraderie with a woman. It is true that men are protective by nature; however, people are not driven by instincts alone, but are driven by their thoughts and most importantly in combat, their training. Women are not the damsel in distress as some people make women out to be and should not be treated as such. They need to be treated as a person capable of taking care of themselves. Casualties are a part of war, whether it be a male or a female and it is damaging to everyone. Many believe that if a man saw a woman injured and a male injured and the male was worse off than the woman that he would still try to help the woman first. However, women in other units have fallen victim to the enemy before and have become casualties while males were around, but in full combat gear it is near impossible to tell between a man and a woman. It is basic human judgment that should decide who is worse and needs attention first.

What about the sex issues, lodging, and the possibility of becoming a POW? In todays military women serve alongside men in non-combat roles and there are rules and regulations regarding sex, fraternization, and rape. No matter what, sex will happen. Thats just what men and women do and it happens now even without women in combat roles. As for lodging, men and women in non-combat MOSs are separated whether it is in barracks or in squad bays. It is not at all complicated to have certain floors of the building designated as female decks and others as male decks. Ever since women have been allowed in the military there has been a risk of being captured. Becoming a POW is simply one aspect of war that is always a possibility. Todays military has the opportunity to go to SERE school which trains military personnel what to do if they are captured. Women have an opportunity to attend this school as much as the males do.

In most mens eyes, women have children and are therefore too important to be sent into combat or are unnecessary. However many women have already experienced it. There are plenty of women in the world to sustain our growing population, not to mention that not all women want to have a family. Women should not be viewed as only baby makers. Women have other abilities to bring to the table, especially in modern warfare. Women are needed to search, and talk to women in other societies. Women are a necessary asset in combat MOSs today.

Many believe that women are too weak and would break down mentally in a fire fight. It is true that a woman does not have the upper body strength of a man; however, if a woman were to exercise as much as a man or maybe more than that of a man, the woman would be able to have that upper body strength that they need whether it looks like it or not. It is not impossible for a woman to become as strong as a man; it just takes time, training, and the proper motivation. In a recent study by the US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, more than 75 percent of all women studied were able to perform duties traditionally done by males in the military after undergoing extensive physical training. While this study is impressive; it is worth mentioning that of the women studied, all but one were civilian volunteers having no prior military or physical training. Statistically speaking, women are more calm and able to take more stress, which makes them less likely to break down mentally in a combat zone.

It is a major misconception that women would not survive in the field due to hygiene issues, and that there are not enough women that want to be in combat MOSs. Look back to when Christ walked the Earth. Women back then did not have the hygiene products we have today nor did they shower nearly as much as people do today. In fact, they used rivers to wash their bodies, which are known to contain bacteria that can cause infections in it. Somehow they survived until today. Women are capable of taking care of themselves, especially their personal hygiene. Many believe that there are not a lot of women who want to serve in combat MOSs. That is simply not true; most women who join the military have the underlying desire to fight for their country; to serve in a combat MOS. Some who find out they are not allowed to be in those MOSs go on with their lives and dont join the military; some join the military anyways in the hopes that it will change someday.

Many people believe that there is a lack of public support. However, in todays society it is all about equal rights and opportunities for everyone including women. It should be viewed as unconstitutional to have women restricted from combat MOSs. Opening the remaining jobs in the US military to women would only promote equality. Generally speaking, people support equality and womens rights.

There are two main options to consider when allowing women into combat roles: whether to have integration or segregation. With integration come a few problems such as male camaraderie issues upon first integration, sex, rape, and lodging. After a while, the males would get used to having a female to compete with and therefore the woman would become one of the guys in time. Lodging would have to change to have designated rooms or squad bays for only women. Sex and quite possibly rape would happen just as it does in many other units today. Segregation is the better of the two choices, which only brings a few problems such as; creating new all female units, and some people might think it is sexist, when in reality it is quite necessary in a combat environment.

Women would be required to undergo the same infantry training as males do, including lat. movers. Physical training should be more intense to incorporate strength. With integration there needs to be more strict fraternization rules. With either option there is a need to impose pregnancy rules. There could be a document that has to be signed saying that if they get pregnant to skip a deployment, or as a result of fraternization, strict action would be taken in the form of NJP or court martial.

Allowing women into all MOSs, to include combat roles, will improve America. Women would have all of the same job opportunities; there would be higher morale within the military because many women would finally be able to do what theyve always wanted to do. There would be less women casualties, because women would finally have the same training as the males currently have. Women in the military would gain more respect and not be looked upon as a second-class citizen. And most importantly; it would result in an increase in military enlistees, just as it did in Germany when they opened all military occupational fields to women.

Here are some of the facts. There are countries that allow women in all combat roles and MOSs, they are as follows: New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Israel, Sweden, and Switzerland. Some have changed their policies as recently as 2008, such as Germany who has seen a drastic increase in enlistees as a result of the change. Like many countries who have accepted women into combat roles, Germany conducts special courses on preventing sexual harassment. Today women are regularly being sent to foreign deployments, such as Afghanistan. Recently the United Kingdom has been considering allowing women into combat MOSs. In WWII the Soviet Union often used women as pilots and in ground combat such as snipers. Lyudmila Pavlichenko, who was a Soviet sniper in WWII, made 309 confirmed kills including 36 enemy snipers. As other countries allow women in all fields in the military, the United States can look at them as an example and learn from their mistakes to make our military a better and more productive place. With so many countries getting with the program the only question remaining is when will the US realize its mistake and finally live up to its reputation for equality.