Gender Based Combat Exclusion Rule

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.

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.

Women now make up 14 percent of the active-duty military in the United States, which is up from 1.6 percent, 25 years prior. (Christian Science Monitor, 1). In 1948, President Truman signed the Women 's Armed Services Integration Act which created the role of women in the military. This law meant that each branch of the service was allowed to have one female Colonel (Byfield, 12). As of 2015, there are many women who serve as Generals and Admirals. All of these roles are non-combative. Even though some women can do anything a man can do, the vast majority can not, therefore making it an unsafe idea to place these women into combat positions.

“The Defense Department recently announced new policies that will open more than 14,000 military job opportunities to women. Which seems like a great step—except that more than 200,000 positions will still remain exclusive to men, from front-line infantry positions to high-level special operations roles.” States Dani Moritz from The Muse. (Mortiz) Women have been thrown out of spotlight when it came to genuine positions. Does this shout disparity for women, as well as stereotyping and it for the most part tosses women’s rights ideal out of the window?

Since then, American military women have been slowly creeping into more combat-like roles (“Two Opposing Views on Women Combat”). Women have been authorized to fly in combat missions and serve on combat ships. Furthermore, as of 2008, 16,000 women were serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Germany, Japan, and other related areas ("Timeline: Women in the U.S.

American Society has changed and evolved at a record pace over the past decade. Technology, social media, sexual orientation, and race relations have all been hotly debated topics. On January 24, 2013, when then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta rescinded the rule that restricted women from serving in combat units and directed the Armed Services to review their occupational standards and assignment policies, the discussion of women in Combat Arms was thrust into the limelight. The debate on whether to allow women in direct combat roles is an emotional topic for most and it appears the latest policy change could very well be a mistake.

In January of 2013, then United States Secretary of Defense (SecDef) Leon Panetta under the auspicious of the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, lifted the ban excluding women from combat-related jobs. The policy, part of the Women Armed Services Integration Act of 1948, barred women from combat-related occupations within the U.S. military for more than 60 years. Opinions varied with liberal-minded individuals and feminist praising the administration 's progressivist ideas concerning gender inequalities between men and women; other 's lauded the move as nothing more than a social experiment that could potentially weaken the military 's warfighting capabilities. Two years later, incumbent SecDef Ashton Carter expanded the rule set by

In my opinion, women have every right to be on the front-line, they’ve fought and work hard, just like all the men in that position. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said starting in January, women will be alongside men in “all front-line combat roles, including in infantry units, in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command.” Although, 220,000

Whether or not women should be allowed in active combat is a serious source of controversy today. There will be more studies done to determine whether it will benefit or hurt the military to allow women in active combat. Based up the research that I found, women should not currently serve in all active combat roles. Women are not as physically strong as men nor do they have the endurance or stamina that men do. Until women can somehow change the way their body is made, there will always be a difference between male and female performance. Everybody has their own opinion on this topic and until there has been sufficient research done on this subject, it will remain a source of controversy.

Secretary, Leon Panetta, lifted the ban on women serving in combat roles over seas, which overturned a 1994 law that prohibited women women from being engaged in infantry and other direct warfare duties (Hoyle, 2014). This alteration created an uproar to a already highly debated topic; whether women are fit to serve in the military. Many individuals on the anti-women campaign note that the sex differences and anomalies among genders are enough to discard women as being capable to serve in the military and are defiantly not fit for war. Many male soldiers claim that attempts to include women in unit camaraderie will lead to accusations of sexual harassment and prevent women from being integrated from the team which will lead to trust issues

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.

The topic of women in combat is an ongoing debate that is currently being argued in many places, commonly in the United States. Women in combat next to men and a free women combat are two different perspectives in which women in combat are defined by their gender. Women in combat will provide help to those men who are to attend a combat. A free-women combat, on the other hand, prevents women from dying during combat due to not being allowed in combat. Since Women aren’t able to be included in any job in the military and have a right to be equally treated like men in combat, it’ll be unfair to more people. Women should be given the same right as men out in battlefields because “women serving in the armed forces has not wavered as warfare has changed, a clear sign that the necessity of women serving in combat is recognized.” In addition, “several other countries outside the U.S. already have women serving on the front lines.” Lastly, “Combat is nothing new to our women in the military. Several women have already given their lives serving in combat.” Women have, over the years, worked hard to get awarded the choice towards their career. Although it prevents more deaths, it’s also a sexist matter. Any job in the military should be a choice for women, it’s their career after all and they can make their own decisions.

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.”

After years of discussion and debate it appears that soon women will be sent into combat operations in the United States military. This is the way it should be because women are ready and competent to be put into combat roles in the U.S. military. Indeed, slowly but surely, the Defense Department and Congress have been inching towards a decision that will formalize the policy; in fact the National Defense Authorization Act, put before Congress in May, 2012 by U.S. Senators John McCain and Carl Levin will in effect order the military "…to come up with a plan to send women into battle" (McAuliff, 2012). Hopes are high that this will be approved by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama.

Women have fought alongside men in the United States Military in every major battle since the American Revolution. The roles of women in the military have evolved over time to allow the incorporation of women in expanding military career fields. Women have proven themselves to be an asset to the military despite some of society believing women would weaken America’s military effectiveness. Today more than 200,000 women are active-duty military, this is about 14.5% of all military. Currently, women are involved in all branches of the Armed Forces; there are around 74,000 women in the Army, 62,000 in the Air Force, 53,000 in the Navy, and 14,000 in the Marine Corps (By the numbers: Women in the U.S. Military). Military women continue to