Why Women Joining Infantry Branches of the Military is more Problematic than Beneficial.
The Department of Defense lifted all existing restrictions that were gender oriented that blocked women from joining services such as the infantry. According to Tilghman (2), this historic change clears the way for women to serve alongside their male counterparts in combat arms units. The decision was lauded as one that sought to enable the military to harness the perspectives and skills that talented women have to officer better. The move has widely been seen as being one seeking political correctness and application of activism in a sensitive area of military operations. The infantry of the United States Army is its oldest and most important combat arm. The primary goal of the infantry is to close with the enemy, to destroy or capture them. Infantry units do not fight alone but are also supported by other arms and services of the army such as the Marine Corps, the air force, and the navy. The ideal profile of an infantryman is someone who is a good combat soldier, one who fights on foot using ammunition and other weapons that he or she carriers, use armored vehicles when a situation demands among other weapons.
According to Szayna (21) joining the infantry traditionally was reserved for men. All branches of the army have different standards for males and females. The reason is that women would not qualify to join the military if there were not separate standards for them. The argument
The Women's Armed Services Integration Act says, “Effective the date of enactment of this title, there is established in the Regular Army a Women’s Army Corps, which shall perform such services as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Army” . This bill is saying that women are now able to perform tasks in the army with regulations set in place from the Secretary of Army. This bill became one of the first women’s rights bills. Today the women in the army are still fighting a war against gender discrimination. No matter the gender, going into the military requires great physical fitness. Women wanting to join must be between 17 and 34 years old, 58 to 80 inches tall, and weigh 91 to 236 pounds. The women must be able to take a physical fitness test including pushups, sit-ups and jogging. Depending on age they must be able to perform seven to 19 pushups, 26 to 53 sit-ups, and must complete a two-mile jog within 18 minutes and 54 seconds. If a woman fails at any part of these requirements they will not be enlisted . These are the only requirement’s that differ from men to women. The other qualifications include; US citizenship, a high school diploma or GED, a good health exam, and a score of 31 or better on a test called Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery exam (ASVAB) . One of the current issues that was passed regarding women in the army was a bill that allowed women to serve in the front lines. This includes,
The big worry stems from an idea about the degeneration of the combat community structure. So, with that in mind, let 's suppose that women are granted full entry and that the requirements for men and women are exactly the same. Let’s also suppose nobody tampers with the vetting process, meaning no overseeing, “Yes Men generals,” pushing women through, as well as no misogynistic gate-keeper putting an extra sandbag in a girls’ rucksack prior to some training
This restriction was meant to keep women from serving in units below the brigade level whose primary mission was to engage in direct combat on the ground. This restriction meant that women could not serve in combat Military Occupational Specialties such as special operations, infantry, armor, artillery, and in this case combat engineers. The current goal of Army leadership is to open most jobs by the end of fiscal year (October) 2015. Soon the Army will officially have female combat engineers, fighting and training alongside their male counterparts. We will all have to change any preconceived notions and biases of women in order to have a smooth transition and to ensure that female soldiers are not mistreated or given any special treatment, and ensure that they are treated fairly and be seen as just soldiers not female soldiers but just that, soldiers.
Female integration in the infantry has been a recent topic of discussion with many voicing their own opinion on the matter. With the recent opening of all jobs in the military to all genders, more are beginning to show their stance. Voicing her own opinion on the matter is former U.S. Army Captain Julie Pulley for an editorial in the Wall Street Journal titled “Women In The Infantry? No Thanks”. In this article she sees the juxtaposition between females integrating among the ranks of the infantry. Pulley displays her stance firmly with her thesis stating “As a former captain and airborne soldier in the Army’s Second Infantry Division Support Command, I say be careful what you wish for. Overturning a long-standing tradition in a martial organization
The United States Army was founded on June 14, 1775, and since this day women have helped nurture this great branch into what is known today as the largest and oldest United States Military service. (“Women”) The US Army is consisted of about 452,064 enlisted soldiers and 87,610 officers. This total of 539,675 makes up 37.8% of all of the military branches. ("Demographics”) As time has carried on more and more women are looking to serve the country in the Army. While women have many skills and abilities to offer, there is still a major issue that needs to be addressed. Double standards for women in the Army has created a disservice to not only the females but the entire Army. In order to have a more efficient armed force, standards for men and women should be equivalent.
Our military has been around for over 241 years, establishing its strength and developing itself to be one of the strongest, most potent, and patriotic military's of the world. Our military, consisting of the five branches (Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Coast Guard) as of October 1st, 2016 opened all military occupational specialties (MOS) to females. This may be one of the largest leaps in history that our country has made. However, with women's roles in the combat being changed they are required to pass all training with the same standards males have. This questions the service and brings to a debate on why the double standards in place today still remain. With the exception of females in combat meeting male requirements to qualify, I come to question the effects that these double standards have on the U.S. military, both past and present, in regards to the military's strength as a unit and the effects that they have on bringing together the members as one team despite these differences inflicted by gender. Both men and women of the service have the possibility to stand alongside one another while representing the same face-value and quality as
Women have always served in the United States Military, since the beginning of the existence of the United States. I will make the argument, that women can and should be allowed to serve in combat roles, that are traditionally open for men only. Combat does not distinguish between the sexes. This is an important issue for everyone. The main reason, why women have never been allowed to be in combat roles, is because the sight of a wounded woman on the battle field makes for heart breaking image. It should not matter what the gender is, as long as they get the job done on the battlefield. The conventional ways of fighting a war, does not exist anymore. We all have a part, women and men. There is only one
Due to the expected integration of women into combat roles, the Marine Corps trained 233 female Marines in Marine Corps infantry and other ground combat schools (Michaels). Of those 233, less than half passed the minimum requirement of pull-ups (AP). In 1994 the “Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule” was installed to remove women from direct combat roles (Hovey). In the time since, social justice groups have fought for equality for women, the LGBT community, and minority groups concerning multiple issues. Many issues arose from the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” rule, but the military has not suffered for the decision. The current issue is women in combat roles. The forced integration of women into combat specific roles is detrimental to overall combat effectiveness. The nature of the push to move women into combat specific roles forces those making the decisions into employing whatever means are necessary to achieve the desired level of integration.
Shasta conveyed the point that women are equal to men, and deserved to be treated as such. And, if someone wants to fight for us, why not let them? Military generals would also be affected, perhaps creating different standards to qualify.
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.
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.
About 200,000 plus women are on active duty for the military out of 1.4 million serving. Out of the 200,000, 2.7 percent of them make up the front line units (CNN). This is approximately 5,400 women that are enlisted and are fighting on the front lines. This number is very low and should be much higher. This number represents the idea that the military believes women should not be on the front lines. Many people in society believe that what the military is doing is wrong and females should be able to fight on the front lines. There has been an official ban on women fighting on the front lines by the military. Recently many people are discussing the idea of lifting the ban and giving females the ability to fight in the front lines while the other party believes that women should not.
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.
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