I heard today that more women have died in combat (in non-nursing roles) in Iraq than in Vietnam and the Gulf War combined. I think the number is around 24.
While women are not in combat-roles per se, they are driving and riding in supply trucks through combat zones. I don’t have a problem with women in the military as long as they are in roles that they can physically do as well as a man. This is why they don’t have combat jobs, however, this brings up an interesting question.
Would you want to be riding in a supply truck with women through a combat zone. I would not. Because if we come under attack I would be concerned about the women being able to physically handle the situation, weapons, etc.
This is not a knock on their bravery, just an acknowledgement of physical limitations.
I used to be very opposed to women in combat, but I no longer am. My reasoning before was opposition to the prospects of women POWs.
American warfare has changed a lot since Vietnam. We wind up with very few POWs. We take very few casualities. Physical strength is a much less important part of combat than in previous eras. Relatively speaking, American warfare is anticeptic.
From what I understand, the large majority of combat duties are performed by women as well as or better than men. Correct me if I am wrong. Let them go for it.
American warfare has changed a lot since Vietnam. We wind up with very few POWs. We take very few casualities.
IMO, the POW issue, though valid, is tangential to the issue.
However, to say that warfare has changed a lot since Vietnam and that we wind up with very few POWs is short sighted. All wars in the future are not going to be Gulf Wars. We are, some time, going to come up against a real military threat. We aren’t going to be the only big kid on the block forever.
**First of all, not all women have children. **Get out! I thought they came that way standard issue. . .
Second of all, many male soldiers are fathers and it’s sad to see them ship out as well. It’s kind of sad to see the men shipped out. It’s kind of heartening, though, too. There is something noble about fighting to protect one’s country, and one’s loved ones. I might even say that it’s one of the most noble things a man can do. It is not one of the most noble things a woman is capable of however.
I don’t think women should be in the trenches, but we don’t have many trenches. Any job in the Air Force or Navy pretty much work for me. Supply and logistic jobs even on the front line work for me. These can all be actual combat positions. So far as I can tell, their service in such positions has been excellent.
Women enjoy the freedoms protected by our armed forces. So long as they can keep up, I guess they have just as much right to fight and die for those rights as anyone else. I don’t have any issues with the theory of women in combat positions, it’s the practicality of integrating them into units that i think is trouble.
I don’t, much. And I don’t see how they relate to putting women in combat.
Both the police and firefighters put their lives on the line (and the cops might also kill others in the line of duty) and do a lot of unglamorous work - just curious if you think thoe professions are also beneath the “dignified nature of women”.
Both the police and firefighters put their lives on the line
Frankly, I don’t think the analogy holds up. There’s a difference between doing a job with a degree of risk and doing a job in which the express purpose is killing.
Though I also think that arguments against women in combat on grounds of physical capabilities apply even more strongly to police and firefighters.
What I find truly shocking today is the low esteem in which we regard motherhood. The prevailing attitude seems to be that staying at home to raise children is a waste- I read the claim from someone not long ago that having women stay home wastes half the potential of the human race. I know you’re not saying so, but I found it really sad.
in a volunteer army, i don’t see the problem if they want to volunteer. they just need to be able to pass objective physical, mental testing such that they are qualified to be there. no handicapping based on gender. i am not in the military, but if i was, i wouldn’t care who was fighting next to me, so long as that if i was hurt, that person could drag my ass out of danger if necessary. in general, women would have more trouble with that. but if they didn’t, let them fire away…
