Women's Roles in the Military
Before World War I, women assisted the military during wartime mainly as nurses and helpers. Some women, however, did become involved in battles. Molly Pitcher, a Revolutionary War water carrier, singlehandedly kept a cannon in action after a artillery crew had been disabled. During the
Revolutionary and the Civil War, a few women disguised themselves as men and took part in hand-to-hand combat. The first enlisted women served in World War I as telephone and radio operators, translators, and clerks. But it was not until World War II that women became part of the regular military. Each service had its own women's corps commanded by female officers. The first of these units, the Women's Army Corps (WACs), enlisted 400,000 women during the war to work in jobs that freed men to fight. Following the war, the Women's Services Integration Act of 1948 established a permanent place for women in
all branches of the military. But promotions for female officers were limited, and women were banned from ground combat jobs as well as from most Navy ships and Air Force aircraft. By the mid-1960s, about 70 percent of enlisted women worked in clerical and other office jobs. The Army and the other services at first resisted sending women to Vietnam fearing that they would notbe able to handle the stress of being in a war zone. But 7,500 military women, mainly nurses, eventually served in Vietnam. Several died in hostile action. When the all-volunteer military replaced the draft in 1973, the armed forces accelerated its recruitment of women. In 1977, a Department of Defense report clearly identified both the limitations and potential of
female recruits at that time. *The average woman available to be recruited is smaller, weighs less, and is physically weaker than the vast majority of male recruits. She is also much brighter, better educated(a high school graduate), scores higher on the aptitude tests and is much less likely to become a disciplinary problem*. As the military modernized and weapons grew more sophisticated, education and technical skills became important. This development opened up more military jobs for women, including some combat-related jobs. For example, women became Army transport helicopter pilots and were assigned to nuclear missile sites. The rapid increase in military technology as well as changes in the whole concep...
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... The General Accounting Office concluded in a hearing on May 8th 1999 that combat inclusion is the greatest impediment to women attaining higher military rank. Until qualified women are given access to assignments that are central to the militaries mission, they will be marginalized. Sexual harassment is a huge problem
in the military today. Over 42 percent of all enlisted women say they have sexual harassed by they*re male colleges. There have been major scandals
ranging from the rape of 3 women at Annapolis to General Wayne Regis getting court marshaled for his part in the sexual harassment of 7 women throughout
his career. What do you think of when you look at Americas Armed services? When I began writing this paper I believed it was an equal opportunity employer that stands for the very basis of liberty and equality. Women are
excluded from a number of jobs for no other reason than stereotyping, ideas of the inferiority of women in combat, and the chauvinistic thought of if their not there it wont happen. Remember none of the reason that I listed above would be sufficient for a government employer to legally close jobs to women so why is it different in our Armed Service?
In 1996, Captain Derrick Robinson, Sergeant Delmar Simpson, and Sergeant Nathanael Beech were arraigned for their suspected involvement in one of the biggest sex scandals the United States Military had seen. According to CNN, between these three men, charges of rape and adultery were pending in a huge case of sexual misconduct against female soldiers at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland (CNN, 2996). Following this incident, the United States Military took it upon themselves to open a telephone hotline to encourage the reporting of similar harsh crimes. Furthermore, the spike in reporting influenced extensive research to examine the prevalence of rape against women soldiers in the U.S. Military (Titunik, 2000). This paper will explore the dynamics of rape against women soldiers in the military and the research done on its prevalence.
The military is trying to find new ways to recognize the fact that women now fight in the country’s wars. In 2011 the Military Leadership Diversity Commission recommended that the Department of Defense remove all combat restrictions on women. Although many jobs have been opened for women in the military, there is still 7.3 percent of jobs that are closed to them. On February 9, 2012, George Little announced that the Department of Defense would continue to reduce the restrictions that were put on women’s roles. The argument that “women are not physically fit for combat” is the most common and well-researched justification for their exclusion from fighting units. It has been proven if women go through proper training and necessary adaptations, they can complete the same physical tasks as any man. Though there seem to be many reasons from the exclusion of women in the military, the main ones have appeared to be that they do not have the strength to go through combat, would be a distraction to the men, and that they would interrupt male bonding and group
Some women enlisted in the army to fight on the battlefield. Their reasons varied as some fought for money and
many men were involved in the war, women finally had their chance to take on many of
With society’s past and present it is apparent that women are still not equal even if they have the title. Men are observably stronger and have a different mentality in situations than women. This is not to say that women should not be in the military but they should have the choice that way they can accept the responsibility and train themselves mentally and physically to achieve the responsibility and respect needed to fight for our country.
In 1973, women began to grow in numbers in the All-Volunteer Force implemented under President Nixon. “In February 1988, Department of Defense (DoD) codified the Combat Exclusion Policy by adopting the ‘Risk Rule’”, (the DoD Combat Exclusion Policy) pg. 21, 22. The change of the feminine role in the civilian population has forced a review of their presence in the Armed Forces. These roles reviewed after the onset of the Exclusion Law in “1967 when the statutory strengths and grade limitations were lifted” (…GOA, pg 4) as well as in 1978 when positions available to women were expanded (…GOA). In 1992 and 1993 when the “Defense Authorization Acts were implemented, congress revoked the prohibition of women’s assignments to combat aircraft… and in January 1994 the ‘Risk Rule’ was rescinded” (the DoD Combat Exclusion Policy) pg 22. With the 1994 change in the “Risk Rule”, assignments were available for females in all services to participate in all available positions. Exceptions of “assignments to units below the brigade level whose primary mission is direct ground combat” (the DoD Combat Exclusion Policy) pg 22(ibid) were put in place.
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 oppose women being apart of the draft argue that equality between 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 to women and the draft argue that if America has not completely reached full equality within the genders, then neither should the army.
The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps was instituted in May of 1942 by Congress. It was later changed to the Women’s Army Corps which also had full military status. There were more than 100,000 WAC’s and 6,000 female officers by 1945. Another role women played in the war was given by the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots. (American Women in World War II) Women who obtained a pilot license prior to service became the first to fly American military aircraft. Over 1,000 WASPs served in the military and thirty-eight lost their lives during the war. The fallen WASPs were not granted military benefits or honors and it was not until 1977 that they were given full military status. (American Women in World War II)
court battles, made their way into the elite schools of our great military. where our best men have been serving us for generations. While claiming to be every bit as good as the men, they have for the most part failed once they got in. Ms. Faulkner won her legal battle to enter the Citadel, breaking a 152 year. tradition of training men only.
The Americans used women in the war effort during World War II while men were fighting overseas. In Leila‘s book Mobilizing Women for War: German and American Propaganda, “women in wartime had taken up a lot of jobs that were reserved for men” (Rupp, 55) The woman was called into work in reserves for certain factories to fill in for the men overseas. Other jobs women filled in was a firefighter, ambulance, auxiliary services, and nurse. Nearing the end of the war the women did not want to go back to being just a housewife.
The Defense Department is taking another historic step forward by opening up the remaining 10 percent of military positions, including combat roles, to women. As Commander in Chief, I know that this change, like others before it, will again make our military even stronger. (Rhodan)
This is due to the fact that there are actually very few women who question why they are not allowed in these combat units. One woman remarks that, “I certainly wouldn’t want to be in the infantry. A normal woman can’t carry a rucksack that the guys can... And, let’s face it, we would probably make things harder on everybody all around. No Way” (Moskos). This woman states from personal experience, that women are probably not a good fit for the infantry for several different reasons and there are not many women who disagree. Women make up fourteen percent of all soldiers, and out of that there is maybe a percent or two who have considered the direct combat units; therefore the question becomes “Where is the twenty percent that would join the elite groups?”
The US Military has proven over time that they are incapable of effectively dealing with the sexual assault problem that it faces. “The total number of reports of sexual assaults is up 11 percent over the previous year, and 70 percent over 2012, but officials said increased reporting is a sign of better confidence in the system. ”(Hlad) The US Military has created an environment that allows those who commit sexual assault to roam freely without any real fear of legal consequences; this can only be stopped if civilian court is allowed to handle and process all US Military sexual assault cases.
...nto a situation of high testosterone, women are not considered to be a threat. Military research now however, has shown that women have the physical stamina to endure battle and do not disrupt the cohesion in the male units and can also be mentally tough without breaking when under fire. Women are not only discriminated against in the military, they are also discriminated against in Philosophy, religion, and Popular Culture.
Women also covered shops, drove and helped in the kitchen to feed the soldiers then they were on break. They usually took the non-combat positions considering there was over 338,000 women. “While 10 million men were drafted, the women also served in the armed forces. The more help that was available outside of the war zone, the more supplies they had, the more vehicles they had, and more men could go out to fight” (Stokesbury). Factories consisted of mainly male employees, but when women stepped in to help, they did a well enough job as the