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The role of women in the armed forces
The role of women in the armed forces
Essay on women in combat role
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In 1917, the Selective Service Act was created. Back then, there were very few women serving in the military. As of last year, there were about 214,000 active duty women serving in the United States Military (Women in the, 2012). The Selective Service Act is outdated. The Selective Service Act should be amended to allocate that women should have to sign up for selective service, just as men have too. Since the creation of the Selective Service Act of 1917, the role of a woman has evolved from the common role of a housewife, teacher or nurse. Now women have access to and are equally able to join many different career fields that were once gender based. The case Rostker v Goldberg 1981 debated whether or not women should be excluded from the Selective Service Act. Congress came to determine that “since women are excluded from combat roles in the Armed Forces, then they are not similarly situated for the purpose of the draft (Rostker, 1981)”. According to the Army Times in 2012, “The Army will start placing women in as many as 14,000 combat related jobs (Tan, 2012)”. So now, women are able to pursue combative careers in the military. Furthermore, women signing up for selective service will help increase the Armed Forces if the country is in need. According to Congress, “adequate armed strength must be achieved and maintained in order to insure the security of our nation (Selective Service, 2013)”. Having women on the draft will help to ensure that America will have enough members of the Armed Forces to be at war and to protect the home front. However, some say that the cost of allowing women to register is an issue. According to an estimated report created by The US General Accounting Agency, the funding for registering men in ... ... middle of paper ... ...vice registration to women." GAO Reports. 98.199 (1999): n. page. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. . Sherman, J. "Candidates differ on female draft." Pittsburg Post-Gazette. N.p., 13 Oct 2008. Web. 8 Dec 2013. . Tan, M.. "Women in combat: Army to open 14k jobs, 6 MOSs. ." Army Times. N.p., 02 May 2012. Web. 8 Dec 2013. . "Women And The Draft: The Constitutionality Of All-Male Registration." Harvard Law Review 94.2 (1980): 406. Academic Search Premier. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. "Women in the Military Statistics." Statistic Brain. N.p., 04 Apr 2012. Web. 8 Dec 2013. .
Within Megan H. Mackenzie’s essay, “Let Women Fight” she points out many facts about women serving in the U.S. military. She emphasizes the three central arguments that people have brought up about women fighting in the military. The arguments she states are that women cannot meet the physical requirements necessary to fight, they simply don’t belong in combat, and that their inclusion in fighting units would disrupt those units’ cohesion and battle readiness. The 1948 Women’s Armed Services Integration Act built a permanent corps of women in all the military departments, which was a big step forward at that time. Although there were many restrictions that were put on women, an increase of women in the U.S. armed forces happened during
Women in the US Military - Civil War Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.
Men have always been looked upon as the leading sex. Looking back through history women have been the ones who take care of the home and children, while men are the ones who work and go to war. However in recent years there’s no doubt that women have become much more equal in the work force. Nevertheless men are still the ones who are forced to fight our wars when the time calls for it. Many think that women should be entirely equal to men having their choice to be drafted taken away but the fact is that they are physically at a disadvantage, too emotionally oriented, and the increase of female presence would have a more negative impact in the military in the way of social interactions.
In a 1944 magazine article, Eleanor Roosevelt claimed that American “women are serving actively in many ways in this war [World War II], and they are doing a grand job on both the fighting front and the home front.”1 While many women did indeed join the workforce in the 1940s, the extent and effects of their involvement were as contested during that time as they are today. Eleanor Roosevelt was correct, however, in her evaluation of the women who served on the fighting front. Although small in number due to inadequate recruitment, the women who left behind their homes and loved ones in order to enlist in the newly established Women’s Auxiliary Army Corp (WAAC), and later the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), were deemed invaluable to the war effort.
Over forty years has passed since the United States inducted the last draftee through the Selective Service System. The Selective Service System is an independent agency of the United States, which gives the President the right or power to conscript men for military service. There have been different Acts passed by congress since 1917 that require men of various ages to register for service. Although, the name of each Act and the age requirements of the registries changed, the Acts were all similar in nature. They all gave the President the right to call men to war when he deemed necessary. In January 1973, Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announced the creation of the all-volunteer service, retracting the need for the draft (GAO.gov). Under current law, all men between the ages of 18-25 must register within 30 days of their 18th birthday, however this information is used mostly for recruitment purposes and in case of any future crisis. There has been much controversy over this matter since the Vietnam War, when people started to realize the draft was unfair due to loopholes and draft exemptions making the draft unfair for working men. At one point in time the military draft may have been necessary, but today’s all-volunteer military has eliminated the need for a draft.
H.R. 1928 sought to title their bill “Women’s Fair and Equal right to Military Service Act” (HR. 1928), as greater than 250,000 females had already been deployed to combat zones in the Middle East and at that time 137 females had lost their lives while in combat (HR 1928).
Some people say that women should be in the draft because nowadays, men and women should be considered equal. With the advancement of equality in the American society, these people argue that the armed forces should not be excluded from the growing new reputation America is trying to get. Hence, those who support women being apart of the draft argue this point. According to “Update: Women in the Military”, women have become way more involved in the army (1). From this, supporters of women joining the draft argue that their involvement in the draft should also reflect on their increasing involvement in the army. However, those who are opposed women being apart of the draft argue that equality within men and women is an unrealistic mindset. This is proven in the New York Times with Catherine Rampell’s when she writes “Women earn 92.2 cents on the dollar of what men earn” (1). This is a statistic from 2011 that shows people that complete equality between men and women has still not fully been reached. Furthermore, those opposed women and the draft argue that if America has not completely reached full equality within the genders, then neither should the army. Both of these articles bring up good points about why women should either be in the draft or not in the draft.
women in the military and found that 51.8 % of men and 74.6% of women
Ruby, J. (2005, November 1). Women in Combat Roles: Is That the Question?. Off Our Backs,35, 36.
The. Trotter, Gayle S. "Independent Women's Forum." Congressional Digest Mar. 2013: 25-31. pp.
Ernst, Julia L. "The Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues: An Inside Perspective on Lawmaking by and for Women." Michigan Journal of Gender & Law, 12.2 (2006): 189-274.
The story of America’s military woman can be traced to the birth of our nation. During the American Revolutionary War, the 18th and 19th centuries, where women served informally as nurses, seamstresses, cooks, and even as spies and were subject to Army’s rules of Conduct. Though not in uniform, these women shared soldier’s hardships including inadequate housing and little compensation. Women have formally been part of the U.S Armed Forces since the Inception of the Army Nurse Corps in 1901. In 1973 the transition to the All-Volunteer Force marked a dramatic increase in the opportunities available for women to serve in the military. As of September 30, 2009, the total number of active duty women in the U.S was 203, 375, and women made up 14.3 percent of the U.s armed forces (Robinson). Women are a crucial role in c...
Landers, Robert K. "Should women be allowed into combat?" Congressional Quarterly Inc. 13 Oct., Vol. 2, No. 14, pp. 570-582
The military draft that was all male was now unconstitutional. Before the law was passed, there were groups that were protesting against it. The leader of the “Stop ERA Campaign” was Phyllis Mattress. Even though she had a law degree, she saw past her privileges feminists had gained for her and glorified the traditional roles of American women. She would open her speech with, “I’d like to thank my husband for letting me be here tonight”, just to taunt the feminists that were listening.
Should women be allowed in the military? My answer was at first a resounding “no.” However, once I started my research, my opinion changed. In 1948, Congress passed the combat exclusion law that prohibited women in the Air Force, Marines, and Navy to hold combat positions; however, the Army can assign these duties as they see fit (Schroeder). Some people assume that Americans are not ready to see a woman wounded or killed in war; however, there are female police officers that are wounded or killed daily (Schroeder). How can we rationalize that a woman has the right to die protecting our local communities but not our country? If a person chooses to be in a combat field, and can pass the physical demands required, gender should not be an issue. The arguments of physical differences and cohesion among the troops are valid arguments but not substantial enough to prevent women from serving in frontline combat roles within the military.