Military Women Should NOT Be Allowed in Combat Positions

The prospect of women in ground combat or on the front-line in the military has proven to be a controversial issue throughout decades of war. This controversy stems from criticisms such as women’s physicality versus men’s, the association of sexual-related situations within the military, and a history of failed gender-integration training. The bottom line, however, is that women should not be allowed in front-line or ground combat unless they are willing and capable of meeting the same standards of testing as men.

Basic differences in the physicality of men and women are one of the key aspects of why a woman’s combatitive role in the military is questioned. Many of the differences between men and women’s training in military roles are biased by gender, which can create overly hazardous battle conditions. For women in the military, training and testing requirements are set at a lower standard because they lack the efficiency in strength capabilities that men possess. It is shown in the testing requirements that “To get a perfect score on the Army fitness test, a 22-year-old man must do 75 push-ups, 80 sit-ups, and run two miles in 13 minutes. Women soldiers must do 46 push-ups, 80 sit-ups, and run two miles in 15:38” (Yeager 2010), which is a significantly lowered standard. The fact is well-known in the military world that, as long as these lower standards are met, a woman’s goal is considered reached in a satisfactory manner. This is unfair treatment towards the men involved, as well as military tradition, but most importantly to the safety of the women willing to fight. Women who choose to take on a role in ground combat and on the front-line have put themselves in the same life-threatening position that the men of the military...

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...ng Viewpoints. Armed Forces. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from American Conservative, 2008, April 7, 7, 14-17) Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com:80/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=OVIC&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010638217&userGroupName=naal_uwa&jsid=074fde76d044b208a84ef321a8bfa2b2

Yeager, H. (2010). The Role of Women in the Armed Forces Should Be Expanded. In L. Gerdes (Ed.), Opposing Viewpoints. Armed Forces. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Wilson Quarterly, 2007, Summer, 31, 54-62) Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com:80/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=OVIC&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010638216&userGroupName=naal_uwa&jsid=2ad2d89960ed772031e8bed3b55cdd3f