Women in combat

[Anonymous]

Let's try a different slant on this...

I have no problem with women in the military, never did in 21 years of the Navy and still don't as a civil service gainfully employed by the Navy.

As a Navy recruiter, I inducted a number of young women who appeared to have more sense than most of the young men the same age. As a company commander in Great Lakes for 132 female engineering school students I was impressed with just as many female students as their male counterparts. A motivated intelligent woman with ambition can be a fearsome individual. As a chief on an aircraft carrier, I saw both good and not so good female sailors.

The problem with the whole idea of equality of the sexes in the military (and women in combat) is that everyone assumes that because an individual is old enough to vote and has God given rights as a U.S. citizen, they are somehow mature enough to know how to act. Nothing could be farther from the truth! The majority of our military strength is made up of young men and women who have yet to gain the maturity and experience to control their own emotions (and I have to add - their hormones).

I've seen men and women thrown together on ships, in barracks and in schools. You just can't mix the sexes at that young an age without 24 hour a day supervision and not expect to see numerous cases of harassment, assault and fraternization. You can't blame it on poor leadership or training, because I have yet to see a command with mixed genders that didn't have problems. Nature made us all with inherent habits, emotions and hang ups. When we started making the military treat it's members more like human beings, we gradually lost control of those natural human tendencies.

I did not choose to join combat outfits because I had that choice and thought I could better serve my country as a mechanic in an engineroom. If a female chooses to be in combat and qualifies, then let her do it, just don't put her together with the men. Hell, the military can't even keep grown adults in their 30's from doing stupid things when thrown together, how do you expect them to keep young adults in line?

Why is the idea of a totally female combat outfit so apparently farfetched to the government/military that they will not even entertain the idea?

srmcpeso@aol.com

[Anonymous]

I have also always stated that the best way to prove women belong in combat is to establish an all female infrantry unit outfitted and equipped with weapons and gear designed specifically for the female frame. I think it would finally put an end to the debate once and for all. Why doesn't this occur, just some of my theories. 1) What if men are actually needed by the women, I hate to say it but what if most women in the military attain their position due to the sweat and muscle of the men they command? 2) Because it could ultimately fail, and the feminist would wind up with egg all over their faces. Remember most of the more radical feminazis out there do not want women to be equal with men, they want women to "totally replace" men. If the female unit failed in combat they would be disproven that men are needed in some role. 3) That it would actually work and now comes a war, both men and women are drafted and America would never allow itself to lose another war really major one like Vietnam, look at Somalia as soon as we started to fail we pulled out. So let's say we get in a big war with China or some other big country. All fighting men have been drafted, now we take women pretty soon the whole generation is gone. Now I ask why do we fight wars, it is not so we can live in Peace, it is so that generations that come after us can. Look at WWII were these men and women fighting for themselves or the generations to come? If men and women are drafted who is left? Plain and simple: THERE WOULD BE NO NEXT GENERATION!!!! In Bosnia alone the ratio of men to women in some areas such as Sarejavo is reported to be 14 women to 1 man. Now what if the women also would have fought? Who would give birth to the next generation? Yeah we could win the war, but for whom? As those left would be the infirm, the very very young and very very old nobody to give birth to another generation of Americans. Let's face it, women are not biologically expendable as men are. If so why do we have sperm banks and not "womb" banks. Let's face it, even with embryo transfer, frozen eggs, in vitro fertilization etc it still takes a woman's body to give birth to a child, and a young woman's body at that, draft all these young able bodied women you in effect kill that generation and the next. So that is why I feel they will never entertain the idea of women combat forces, women are much to valuable a commodity, without them the country in effect ceases to exist no matter how many wars we win.


:
: Let's try a different slant on this...
:
: I have no problem with women in the military, never did in 21 years of the
: Navy and still don't as a civil service gainfully employed by the Navy.
:
: As a Navy recruiter, I inducted a number of young women who appeared to have
: more sense than most of the young men the same age. As a company commander
: in Great Lakes for 132 female engineering school students I was impressed
: with just as many female students as their male counterparts. A motivated
: intelligent woman with ambition can be a fearsome individual. As a chief
: on an aircraft carrier, I saw both good and not so good female sailors.
:
: The problem with the whole idea of equality of the sexes in the military (and
: women in combat) is that everyone assumes that because an individual is
: old enough to vote and has God given rights as a U.S. citizen, they are
: somehow mature enough to know how to act. Nothing could be farther from
: the truth! The majority of our military strength is made up of young men
: and women who have yet to gain the maturity and experience to control
: their own emotions (and I have to add - their hormones).
:
: I've seen men and women thrown together on ships, in barracks and in schools.
: You just can't mix the sexes at that young an age without 24 hour a day
: supervision and not expect to see numerous cases of harassment, assault
: and fraternization. You can't blame it on poor leadership or training,
: because I have yet to see a command with mixed genders that didn't have
: problems. Nature made us all with inherent habits, emotions and hang ups.
: When we started making the military treat it's members more like human
: beings, we gradually lost control of those natural human tendencies.
:
: I did not choose to join combat outfits because I had that choice and thought
: I could better serve my country as a mechanic in an engineroom. If a
: female chooses to be in combat and qualifies, then let her do it, just
: don't put her together with the men. Hell, the military can't even keep
: grown adults in their 30's from doing stupid things when thrown together,
: how do you expect them to keep young adults in line?
:
: Why is the idea of a totally female combat outfit so apparently farfetched to
: the government/military that they will not even entertain the idea?


pritro454@yahoo.com

[Anonymous]

That it would


: actually work and now comes a war, both men and women are drafted and
: America would never allow itself to lose another war really major one like
: Vietnam, look at Somalia as soon as we started to fail we pulled out. So
: let's say we get in a big war with China or some other big country. All
: fighting men have been drafted, now we take women pretty soon the whole
: generation is gone. Now I ask why do we fight wars, it is not so we can
: live in Peace, it is so that generations that come after us can. Look at
: WWII were these men and women fighting for themselves or the generations
: to come? If men and women are drafted who is left? Plain and simple: THERE
: WOULD BE NO NEXT GENERATION!!!!


Hello, why do you think pregnants are excluded from combat??? You don't think that the kids who are alive wouldn't grow up to provide the next gweneration?

"In Bosnia alone the ratio of men to women in some areas such as Sarejavo is reported to be 14 women to 1 man. Now: what if the women also would have fought?"

1 woman for 1 man, seems reasonable.

Who would give birth to the next generation?

That woman, nice to see you consider women as soldier incubators...

"Yeah we could win the war, but for whom?"

Your kids at home, your younger brothers and sisters.

"If so why do we have sperm banks and
: not "womb" banks. Let's face it, even with embryo transfer,
: frozen eggs, in vitro fertilization etc it still takes a woman's body to
: give birth to a child, and a young woman's body at that, draft all these
: young able bodied women you in effect kill that generation and the next."

How many citizens does the USA need?
:
: So that is why I feel they will never entertain the idea of women combat
: forces, women are much to valuable a commodity, without them the country
: in effect ceases to exist no matter how many wars we win.

Women a commodity? come on, the USA did fine with a third of its current population, didn't it? Getting new immigrants isn't a problem either, is it?

T.Westerhof@bioledu.rug.nl