From Women In Combat To Top Brass By Jena Mcgregor

My oral history project is based off of the book "Ashley's War" by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. This book brought to my attention that women in the military, though underappreciated, have played a colossal role in the removal of the ban on women in combat positions.

Women have been participating in the United States military since the Revolutionary War, where they were nurses, maids, cooks and even spies. They played vital roles in order to keep those fighting on the front lines healthier, and even a more important role in keeping commanding officers informed with private information stolen from the other side. Although the Revolutionary War took play in 1776, the first law to be passed that permanently stated that women have an official place in the military was in 1948, almost one hundred and seventy-two years later. Since that time there has been a lack of true growth when it comes to integration of females in the military. In 1994, a law was passed that tried to prohibit women from being assigned to ground combat units below the brigade level. Women are excluded from more then 25% of active combat roles within the military and only in 2013 was the ban lifted which was the final barrier to allowing women into all active roles. This has been a huge step in the direction for women being considered as being equal but there are still challenges that women face within the military. Ranging from sexual assault, discrimination, bullying, and other tactics, it is clear that for many, the military is still a “boys club.”

When it comes to combat assignments and the needs of the military, men take precedence over all other considerations, including career prospects of female service members. Female military members have been encouraged to pursue opportunities and career enhancement within the armed forces, which limit them only to the needs and good of the service due to women being not as “similarly situated” as their male counterparts when it comes to strength or aggressiveness, and are not able to handle combat situations.

Over the past few years, there has been huge discussions when the topic of equality for women who have joined the military is being brought up. Being that gender equality is a big thing in the military now, I decided to chose this topic and discuss how I feel about it. According to the United States constitution, all men are created equal and this does not exclude women. One of the main things I learned is that equality for women in the military is a major issue. There should be no gender inequality in the United States military period. Most jobs are now open to women that were once allowed for only a man to do but when it comes to something such as the military, it should have always been that way No one should be told they can’t do something when it requires fighting for your country. Even back when men were drafted in the military, women should have been able to get drafted as well. You would think the military would take any and everybody that is willing to fight for his or her country simply because it would make our job easier as a whole. Frequently, women are stereotyped as feeble and incapable of doing certain things. Nevertheless, this should not be applied in any kind of career, particularly in the military.

In Molly M. Ginty’s article “Military Women: All Guts, No Glory” she explores the issue of women who serve in the army and them being included in combat with males, and the inequality they have been through serving in the U.S Armed Forces over numerous years. With new legislating, and there being new roles for females there is always going to be the debate if women should be in combat with men or not. For years’ women who would join the army were just nurses and secretaries, because of people thinking that they are not fit to be in battle. Even though they all go through the same training, the women were put in position to practically serve those who were in battle which were the men. So personally I do agree with women being able to serve

Ever since then women proved that they can work in a man’s workplace and do just as well. Any job that was a man’s, was a women’s as well. Women were soon “the most needed workers of all” according to Brenda Ralf Lewis. Factory workers became known as “the soldiers without guns”. If women hadn’t stepped up to the line, winning the war wouldn’t have been as easy as it was for us. Not only did the women in factories and shipyards have a big part in doing their part in the war contributions, but so did the women who were out on the field fighting alongside with their men risking their very life.

Newspapers, news stations, commercials, and blogs are showing the world what is happening for women in combat. Jena McGregor writes a daily blog and this particular blog post made it on Washington Post. McGregor wrote about issues for Women in Combat and people are noticing it. For women in combat, there are issues constantly effecting women to not do their job in the field or allow them to do a job they want to do. Unfortunately in 1994 women were banned from serving in combat, then January 2013 that was changed. Allowing women go into combat being a fresh issue caused a lot of problems and issues. Lawsuits and new restrictions began to happen. McGregor said simply because they are women, they are getting held back. Not only being held back

Throughout the novel The Woman Warrior, by Maxine Hong Kingston, the past is incorporated into the present through talk-stories combined into each chapter. Kingston uses talk-stories, to examine the intermingling of Chinese myths and lived experiences. These stories influence the life of the narrator as the past is constantly spoken about from the time she is young until the novel ends and she becomes an adult. Kingston incorporates two cultures. She is not a direct recipient of Chinese culture, but she has her own sense of talk-story, that she learns from her mother, which tells the old Chinese stories with a sense of myth, in a new American way. This is a way of weaving two cultures together, bringing the Chinese past into her present American life.

Within the pages and creases of history books lay the lives of those before us. Women, if anyone, were the ones who were most underestimated and their capabilities were neglected. Women at first were not recognized. Their place was at home; cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children was indeed all that was there for women. They could not be involved in any way amidst their society. Then World War II occurred. Aside from the image of pilling corpses, deafening shots, and the fear of vindictive souls, came the beginning of a new era for women. As thousands of men were enlisting in American forces, millions of women replaced them in their jobs and even in their line of duty. It was women who were now soaked with sweat along their aching backs.

Helen Thorpe’s novel Soldier Girls weaves together the tales of three women, Michelle Fischer, Debbie Helton, and Desma Brooks, in the Indiana National Guard who deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Although quite an age difference exists between these three women and each holds opposing political views, they come together to be close friends in the end. These soldiers from the Indiana National Guard – one an eighteen-year-old struggling college student, one a single mom of three, and one a lively forty-one-year-old beauty salon manager – never imagined that they would serve in war. The story demonstrates their life-changing experiences while serving in the military and how that affected their personal lives and family relationships. Besides being united under the same gender, these three women are also connected by their socioeconomic class. Michelle, Debbie, and Desma had no patriotic intention to enlist, but the monetary benefit convinced them to make this life-changing decision. Belonging to the lower income working class, these women could not help but think that a couple extra thousand dollars could substantially assist their household. Citizens, especially those from the bottom of the social hierarchy chain, join the service not from a sense of duty but as a job. Michelle, Debbie, and Desma overlooked their fears over the economic incentives. Historically, mostly men served in the military as they possessed the quality to be courageous and warrior-like. But in recent

Women fighting in the war since when? Women have been apart of the military war in early years of 1973 small parts such as being a nurse or providing services for the men. For example, in 1991 The Persian Gulf War more than 41,000 women are deployed to combat zone. 1993-Congress authorizes women to fly in combat mission,and serve in combat boat. 2000-Captain Kathleen McGrath first women to be Command U.S. Navy Warship. 2005-The “War on Terror” Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester is awarded Silver Star for combat actions. 2008-16,000 women serve in Iraq,Germany,Japan and etc.“Women in the United States United States Military.” The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Recently they have moved up by competing in hard core Ranger Schools graduaing at the top of their class with the same accomplishments and stigma as men

Women serving in the military is a topic that most people have very strong convictions on. Rather you are for or against women serving, you can find strong opinions that support both sides in this contentious dispute. Women have struggled to fit into the military life for years. Even though woman have fought alongside men in each key battle from the start of the American Revolution, they still find it hard to shake the stereo types about woman who serve. Woman have always had to cloak themselves in a masquerade of sorts to serve alongside men. When woman were finally accepted into the military, they were given secondary roles to the men. The Pentagon has just recently began to realize that gender really do not matter on the battlefield. Since the Pentagons enlightenment, one can now see progress in the integration of women in all expanding military careers. Women have always proven that they are not only an asset to the military but they are the strength of the America’s military.

The article “All Guts, No Glory” by Molly M. Ginty talks about how we should recognize women in combat. Women being in the military should be respected to the same amount that men are respected. Being in combat should not have anything to do with your gender; I believe it should truly be based off your ability to fight. With that being said, I agree completely when it comes to women being in the military. The article mentions that women go through a lot of harassment and assault, all because they are female in combat. I find that to be sexist, women are capable of doing just as much as men are, and maybe most of the time even more. If I were to ever serve in the military that is one thing that I would fear. I would not fear being harassed because

The text I have chosen to speak on is in a movie called G.I Jane. This movie came out in 1997 and this movie talks about a chairperson of the military budget committee forces the Navy secretary to start a gender integration to allow or give opportunity to women to train for the U.S Navy elite and a woman named Lt. Jordan O’Neill is given the opportunity to try out for this elite team but no one expects her to pass, through the training which has 60% drop out rate for men, but despite all this she is determined to prove everyone wrong.

Women in combat is a sensitive topic throughout the Armed Forces. Although in January 2013 the Military made the decision to end the ban on women in combat, many still oppose this decision. Many Combat jobs have very strict requirements, such as physical abilities. There are many concerns of women being able to fulfill these types of requirements. Another big concern is the risk of sexual assault and sexual harassment, many people feel that women in combat jobs are at a higher risk of being subjected to these types of things. The safety of our soldiers whether male or female is a big concern for everybody, no matter their position on this particular topic. Women are thought to be sensitive creatures, the worry of their sensitive nature in a combat zone might hinder the mission. Completing the mission is and will always be a major requirement. If a question of mental and physical ability can be proven to complete the job requirements, should this still be an issue? The possibilities of sexual harassment and assault are very serious. Unfortunately, this is an issue whether in the military or not. Sexual crimes happening in college are a serious issue, as a society we cannot tell women not to go to college because there is a greater possibility of being sexually assaulted or harassed. If a person has all credentials, and qualifications to perform a job, they should be allowed to regardless of gender, and safety concerns should enforce preventive measures so that all