Re: Women in Combat (general) vs. Women in Infantry -- Stellar Conflict Online

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Date Posted: 00:33:26 10/26/02 Sat
Author: James Tolcino
Subject: Re: Women in Combat (general) vs. Women in Infantry
In reply to: Bill 's message, "Women in Combat (general) vs. Women in Infantry" on 22:56:11 08/14/02 Wed

>
>That women serve honorably and admirably in the
>military is certainly not in question. The question
>is, what effect would the presence of women have in
>combat infantry units, having to fight - sometimes
>perhaps hand-to-hand - against an enemy in the field.
>Would the young men feel an urge/obligation to protect
>the women by their side, or otherwise take chances
>they would normally never take if their comrade were a
>male? (Remember, this is combat, not a campus social
>experiment. Soldiers being fired at are not going to
>be concerned with being politically correct or
>"socially aware".) Would the women have the
>stamina/physical brute strength to keep up with and
>fully contribute to their unit's fighting
>effectiveness? Granted, there are many women who are
>just as physically fit as their male counterparts. But
>not most, and not on average. And the infantry soldier
>is commonly an "average" individual (even though many
>have done exceptional things). And what effect would
>there be on the morale of the unit as a whole if a
>female soldier were captured by the enemy and sexually
>assaulted (a near garantee). I have heard the argument
>that it if a woman wants to take that risk, then that
>is her choice. But it is not that simple. What happens
>to her will effect the morale of the entire unit. It
>is the unit that matters, not any one woman's (or
>man's) right to choose.
>
>- Bill Dusty
>billyd64@aol.com

The fact that men can be drafted. BIG issue. WOMEN cannot. IF/when a war happens, we will draft men. WOULD we draft women? IF we do, will we pick and choose women who are only able to physically make it? Would those women want to?
Second issue. IF a man is drafted and shoots himself in the foot. HE faces a court-martial and is called a coward. What if a woman shoots herself? Same thing? YES. BUT what if she gets pregnant? What if she is a Squad leader? A leadership position just isn't handed to anyone. IT takes training. SO if a woman got pregnant to get out of combat, is that cowardice? Doesn't that cause excessive money, time and effort for everyone else?
HYGIENE. Being a 15 year infantryman, I'll say we get real dirty. Sorry, no tampons in MRE's(meals ready to eat, ie C-RATIONS to old dogs). Hygiene is paramount. NO showers aren't because we hate taking them. JUST because after a 30 day field training exercise(FTX), showers are a luxury.
Last issue. Say a female platoon sergeant has a sexual affair with a lower ranking corperal. SHE then gives preferential treatment to that corperal. Fair? WHY add addition issues beyond "BEANS, BULLETS, and BAND-AIDS" to include CONDOMS, tampons and midol?
NO matter how many "SEXUAL HARRASSMENT" classes or orders for soldiers to not have sex/affairs they will still do it. NO amount of training can stop that. It will happen. WOMEN will get pregnant.

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Replies:

Re: Women in Combat (general) vs. Women in Infantry -- Bill, 13:43:27 10/28/02 Mon
- Re: Women in Combat (general) vs. Women in Infantry -- Matt Murdock, 15:36:15 02/28/03 Fri