John Rodriguez's 'Room For Debate'

Reporter, Dailymail.com. "First Women to Pass Ranger School Were given Extra Training and Lowered Benchmarks after General Vowed 'at Least One of Them Will Pass', Report Claims." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 25 Sept. 2015. Web. 17 May 2016.

She includes quotes from men and senators, but as an article that is meant to allocate women the right to fight, military women should have been referred to much more. While it is important to have the facts she listed, actual, multiple first-hand experiences would have made the article stronger. In addition, the author leaves out the opinion of men currently in the military. As changing of the combat regulation will affect men as well, more military men should have been quoted. While the piece does a good job of getting across the point, a few extra sentences would have done a lot.

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 terms of modern-day combat, women do not have an equal opportunity to survive."(Messay, 3) Some argue that it is a women 's right to be in combat, but anyone will agree that equal opportunity does not play part in combat. "Feminists and their supporters want to gender-neutralize the military be incrementally ditching common sense policies. This latest study, which claims that women can be trained to be like men, contributes to this misguided ideology, weakens the force structure at its core, and puts America 's military personnel in peril." continues Lt. Col. Maginnis. (Messay, 3) When we try to force and shove women into dangerous situations, we are ignoring their rights instead of protecting them. The dropout rate for women is higher than for men. Leading the dropout rates are white women with an average rate of 43%, followed by black women at 33% and Hispanic women with 31% (Park). This can be directly pointed to the physical demands that a women faced in basic training.

Short and to the point, Capt. Serrano’s article can be summed up by her quote, “Marine infantry isn’t broken, it doesn’t need to be “fixed”.” She decided to write about this issue in response to the base newspaper asking readers to submit articles that debated controversial policies in the Military and Marine Corps. Although she stated that she usually does not join in with these discussions due to the vast amount of differing opinions amongst her peers, she worked up the courage to “Be Bold”, as the Gazette advertisement called for. As a female, she knew she would be ruffling some feathers by disagreeing to let women join the infantry, but it’s a topic she felt too strongly about to stay silent.

Many women suffered injuries from the road marches with full gear, and running in combat boots or our suede Converse sneakers up and down hills for miles at a time at a pace often under 8-minutes per mile… Frequently turning purple by the end of the runs, I decided early on that I would pass out before I let myself drop out of a run.” The vigorous training led to a high drop out right, only leaving 62 female cadets left for their graduation in 1980. However, that number was higher than originally anticipated. A month before graduation People Magazine went West Point to interview some females cadets on their personal thoughts and experiences. Most women spoke proudly about their accomplishments at the academy, but their were a few voices of concern. “When I first came it was difficult, but it has changed, and it is changing. A lot of experimentation went on with us…our femininity has been unfairly slighted many times along the way…I don't think women should be sent to combat duty, but that’s not because I think women cant do it—I just don't want to be shot at.” Mixed feelings about co-education at West Point were not just limited to female cadets, but male cadets as well. Some men didn’t want the women there at all, while others didn't care one way or another, and some fully accepted women during this

On December 3, 2015, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter ordered the military to open all combat jobs to women with no exceptions (Kamarck 2). This has raised both concerns and shouts of joy. Those who advocate for it emphasize on equal rights and the argument of how hard for service members to advance to top-ranking positions without combat experience. Also, with the current standards for entry as artificially high, some believe standards should lowered. Those on the opposition raise issues such as psychological, social and cultural differences and claim any change to the current standards as potentially damaging to military readiness. Mike Fredenburg from National Review has only written about the negative side of women in combat. Whether it is facts or from his personal opinion, he talks about the differences in women and men physically and mentally and how a mixed gender unit will reduce the chances of survival and women could not survive in combat.

The Great Debates is a drama that was released in the year 2007, it is based on a real life story of an African American man named, Melvin B. Tolson. Academy Award winning actor Denzel Washington plays Melvin B. Tolson in the movie. Melvin B. Tolson was a professor at Wiley College Texas. In the year 1935, Mr. Melvin B. Tolson, motivates the students to join their school’s first debate team. The team made it all the way up to compete with Harvard in the national championship, furthermore, Harvard was known as the best. The debate team was a team of four students, three boys and one girl. However, in this true life movie actor Denzel Washington engaged in numerous good communication ethics in more than one scene (Washington, Black, Forte, Roth,

Since 1901, women have served in some form of the military, however, dating back to the American Revolution women have had an unofficial role. Women have had and will continue to have an important role in the military, the question is whether women should be allowed to occupy specific combat positions. Traditionally women have not been allowed in combat occupations, but recently these restrictions have been somewhat lifted, making certain occupations available to women. Despite the lift complications arise from women being in combat vocations and it’s not just because of the physical differences, there is also the increased risk of sexual assault. Due to the detrimental impact on the military, soldiers, and society, women should not

In the article “Women in the Military” mentions the women have been joining the military since 2000. Besides that, women who serve the military do require a lot of physical requirement because of stereotypical thinking of women being weak. Even more, some commanders want more women to participate in the use of technology. Women tried fighting this kind of idea but managed to fail; In 2003 young women named Lynch was the only survivor of an insurgent attack in Iraq, which motivated more women to join the army. Even more, women that join the army also experienced harassment and rape. After these incidents, it was decided that the military training was not going to be co-ed basic training. By doing this the pentagon announced in 2013 that they

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.

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.”

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.

“We are all equal; it is not birth but virtue alone that makes the difference.” This insightful quote from the famous French philosopher and historian “Voltaire” seems to accurately represent the beliefs of the factions of American citizens pushing to allow women to fight in combat positions within the US Armed Forces. Though the topic has just recently been boosted into the media and congressional politics, it has been long debated. A rather current editorial from USA Today titled: “Open Combat Positions to Women” outlines the recent developments in the status of a much disputed and controversial issue facing the nation today. Though somewhat less in-depth than some opposing opinions, the

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