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 Women in the Military, Janette Mance explores the debates and problems faced by the increasing number of women involved in the military. After examining issues such as pregnancy, sexual harassment, and rape, Mance concludes that as a society we must continue to strive for gender equality.
Understanding the diversity in the U.S. Military is easiest if the numbers are looked at according to this nation’s population. American women account for fifty-one percent of the U.S. population and yet they only make up about sixteen percent of our uniformed officers throughout each branch of the military. The numbers are even fewer when looking at the number of women who have made a general officer rank. In the Army, only four percent of the generals are female, Navy admirals are seven percent, Air Force numbers are only nine percent, and the lowest number is the Marine Corps with three percent. (Sagalyn, 2011). The graph below shows the disparity in the numbers from each branch of the military and covers both active and reserve officers.
In the year 2006, at an American army base found near Baghdad called ‘Camp Victory’, several American female soldiers were found dead due to dehydration. They died not because they had no access to liquids, but because they did not go to their barracks to drink water in fear of being raped by their fellow soldiers. The army responded to the dehydration case in Camp Victory promptly, however it was not the kind of response that many were hoping for (Tobey 16). Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, a former senior military commander in Iraq, said in an interview that “The women asked to be here, so now let them take what comes with the territory.” (Tobey 16)
Historically, only men have fought in wars. Other than a few exceptions, such as Joan of Arc, this has largely remained true to this day. However, in 2013, the Pentagon announced that by 2016, the ban preventing women from entering combat will be fully revoked. This means that women in the United States military will be placed into combat roles, such as Army and Marine infantry units, artillery, armor, Special Operations Forces, and the Navy SEALs. This shift, which will open more than 250,000 combat-related jobs to women in the military, has generated mixed feelings from those in the armed forces. A large number of female soldiers believe that this ban removal is simply a formalization. This is because women have been deployed at or near the front lines on many occasions (Memmott). However, according to a survey conducted by the Army on its 170,000 female soldiers, only a small handful are interested in combat jobs (Chappell). These mixed feelings may cause trouble among the ranks of female soldiers. Regardless, some people say that this will be a good change, and that woman should have the opportunity to fight in combat like their male counterparts. However, others argue that once the ban removal is in full effect, many significant problems will arise on both the battlefield and in the states.
Throughout history women have proven themselves capable of serving in the military. Women have shown that they do play very important roles in each branch of the military. They’ve done many different types of the jobs, anywhere from nurses to snippers. They can be more useful than men in certain situations. In today’s world women should be given the same opportunities as men, including active combat roles.
The essay “Women in combat a dangerous experiment” argues against women in combat positions. The author, Jerry Boykin, is the executive president of the Family Research Council and served thirty six years in the U.S. Army. He is an original member of Delta Force, the former commander of the Green Berets, and served as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence (Boykin). Boykin’s believes the decision to lift this ban is ideological and a social experiment that will impair military effectiveness. His first point is that the positions being opened are those that deal directly with the enemy. The positions often involving hand-to-hand combat and physically women a...
The military has mostly been dominated by men; the women have also had history of military success. For example, during the second world war, the women were mostly serving as nurses (Manila Bulletin). Women have come far from being nurses during world war II to being able to hold any positions. Some women can be in almost any position. Now women are found on the fronts lines. Also, during World War II, women who were nurses at Pearl Harbor came into a combat situation in which they were to engage and kill the enemy (Manilla Bulletin). An increase of women in the military has impacted the military by having different job roles, expanding military positions, and increasing more sexual assaults.
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)
It appears that women have been integrated into practically every aspect of the military; yet there are some jobs that remain closed to them, mainly, combat specialties (Holm; Hoar). It is over these exclusions that controversy rages. Technically, women are barred by law/ policy from what is defined in narrow terms as direct combat. Each of the United States Armed Services excludes females from active combat. The nature and extent of the exclusion varies with each service.