Should Women Be Allowed At The Frontline Essay

Womens are discriminated by being women. “If we could progress past the point where we are now in terms of sexual and gender discrimination” (Women in the Military: Why Can 't We Serve on the Front Lines). Theres opinions from other women saying they should not go. “Female officer has said that women soldiers should not be able to be allow to fight on the front line because there not fit enough” (Women in the Military: Why Can 't We Serve on the Front Lines). Many believe that women are only good at home. “ Actually been told she “shouldn 't try to work outside of her administrative live duties”because thats what girls are good at” (Women in the Military: Why Can 't We Serve on the Front Lines). women won 't be able to handle the hard life in the front line. “Inserting women into small frontline units who spend weeks in enemy territory, sleeping and eating together in the field would not be a wise move” (Women Not Fit Enough to Fight on the Front Line ', Says Former Female Army Major as US Announces Historic Change of Policy). By hearing a girls name the question began. “I wonder if shes hot, I wonder if she puts out, I wonder if shes fat” (Women Not Fit Enough to Fight on the Front Line ', Says Former Female Army Major as US Announces Historic Change of Policy).

Feminists and women’s activist groups would have us believe that women are equal in strength, skill level, and in every form as men. Some women are attempting to get into the front lines of combat using lines such as: “it would increase the number of available soldiers”, “women can be as strong as men”, “there won 't be any

Some argue that women should not serve in combat because; they have never served in any type of combat operations in the history of the American military. Positions in the military have been designed specifically for women and how they perform their duties. No evidence can be produced that women have the abilities, physical strength, or motivation to engage in combat operations, the physical differences from their male counterparts are so extreme; women cannot maintain the agility or psychological confidence that men are capable of displaying during extreme combat stress.

Is America ready to see their women in combat units? For years this idea has been pondered and discussed. It was not until recent combat troops such as the Army Special Forces units: Rangers and Green Berets were open to the idea. However, after many injuries and fail outs parents of Derby High School girls are now asking if women are up to the task. America needs to make a stand; women due to physical ability, military readiness, and abuse should not be allowed in combat

Combat roles are grueling and nerve breaking, with a lot of commitment and endurance required. Masculinity is the most suited trait for anyone to fit adequately and perform effectively. Mostly, men fit well in these roles due to their masculinity. However, women too, can perform as equally as effective as men. The effectiveness and suitability of inclusion of women in major combat roles in the American Armed forces has faced heated debates, between people who believe that the combat roles are most suited for men, and those that term these people as sexists and argue that women aren’t as qualified and capable of fighting in war. In essence, women can be as effective as their male colleagues in these combat roles.

Nearly one-fifth of the U.S military is female, however certain jobs are not eligible for women. Is it believed that women are not considered for front-line combat and Special Forces positions. Opponents argue that women are physically not capable of being effective for troops and would distract men making the military less effective. However women are fully capable of becoming troops the only thing holding them back is the stereotype that they are not physically capable of handing combat roles.

Many people disagree with women joining combat forces because they think that women are the weaker sex. As stated by Captain Katie, US Marine corps, in the article, “WOMEN IN COMBAT PROS AND CONS”, “The standards of physical fitness have been set to suit men, and women attempting to reach them will over-stretch themselves...Women serving in integrated units will suffer higher injury rates as a result of this” (1). Meaning that men in combat deeply believe that women are not suited to meet combat standards. In spite of the beliefs of many, women have proved that it is possible to accommodate with training. Women can avoid female injury rates by extra pre-training for muscle building. According to the article, “Army Ranger School’s Assessment of women”, Commander Lamothe states, “Eight of the initial 19 women made it through the initial Ranger Assessment Phase...the women were joined by 156 male soldiers who training in the mountains…” (2). This example shows that women are capable to meet standards, they just need official military support to get there. Allowing a mixed gender force may keep the military strong. It will only join the capability of taking down the opponent. In addition, it will double the talent pool for sensitive jobs that require interpersonal skills that not just anyone can have. Women are no stronger than men, they both have strengths and that is what allows them to be in the military positions they are in. The changing nature of modern warfare and the critical role that women have played, led to a historic policy changer. SWAN is a service network that supports the women in combat policy. “SWAN believes that the most effective military is one that integrates women into all sectors”

The history of women in combat is somewhat controversial; and women have always seeked equality in combat and military forces (Women’s Actions). Women have been

     Women have played a tremendous role in many countries' armed forces from the past to the present. Women have thoroughly integrated into the armed forces; all positions in the armed forces should be fully accessible to women who can compete with men intellectually and physically.

An article titled ¨Let Women Fight¨ from the Foreign Affairs website reads, ¨The main obstacle for women who want to serve their country is an outmoded set of biased assumptions about their place in society” (MacKenzie). There are many biased assumptions that do arise from society such as equal rights for women in the armed forces. Women have their own individual reasons for joining, they want to join and they have the right to if that is what they wish to pursue. The nation, as well as the individual, benefit from the women that join as a whole. Equality for women and the way they are treated is an important issue when referring to their rights and roles in the military. Allowance into military combat should be based on skill. Women should

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.

In spite of their record as able combat personnel, there are laws and policies that restrict women in the United States Military from serving in positions that require them to engage in direct combat. Women in the Air Force and Navy are barred from aircraft and vessels that have a chance to be exposed to combat. The official, established policies of the Army and Marine Corps exclude women from combat (Snyder, pg. 75-76). These policies prohibit women, on the basis of gender only, from over twelve percent of the skill positions and thirty-nine percent of the total positions offered by the Department of Defense. Such policies excluding women from combat need to be repealed by Congress.

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 make up 14.6% of the total military in the United States and the majority of them do not want to be put into combat roles. (Mackenzie, “Let Women Fight”, Foreign Affairs) There are some women who want to be closer to the action and they take roles in programs like the Lioness programs which are used to help infantry soldiers communicate to civilians in villages across Iraq and Afghanistan. Not only is this a slim percentage of women in the military but women regularly reject joining these programs because of the danger or the fears that come with joining an infantry unit. (McNulty, 155, “Myth Busted”)

Women on the front line is not a problem. If a man can fight for our country, why cant a woman. "Women soldiers should be allowed to fight close with men for the first time" Farmer, Ben. "Htpp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/11276819/Women-soldiers-to-serve-in-front-line-combat-units.html." The Telegraph.N.p.,05 Dec. 2014.Web.06 Sept.2015. Many sources agree that women should be allowed on the front