WOMEN IN COMBAT THESIS?
Your main thesis would absolutely need to center on the fact that IF a woman could meet the exact same standards as men....and that's extremely difficult to do. My husband and I served in the Marine Corps together and he's 5'11 230 lbs 310 with gear on. What woman do you know can pull him out of the line of fire or pull him out of a building if a man his size gets shot? You'll need to think of all of your counter arguments: America isn't ready to see women blown up, the hassle of arranging shower times for women and men, the rape possibility (have you ever been around 200 men who haven't gotten laid in 7 months? I have and while I felt safe around most of them, there were a handful that I wouldn't want to be alone with) the fact that women have a menstrual cycle that can affect their moods/hormones, the fact that if a woman loses control and has sex (b/c women get horny, too) she could get pregnant. If she gets pregnant she gets sent back to the states and her squad is a man short making the job more difficult for them. As a woman who served as a Military Policeman in the Marine Corps (the closest a woman can get to an actual combat arms job) I don't think it's a great idea for women to be in combat. In fact, I think it's an awful idea. It's been shown in studies in other countries that men will stop to help a woman with a fatal injury before they try to help their buddy with a twisted ankle. Men are naturally protective of women and it's very difficult for them to handle seeing a woman blown up or shot. When you can come up with legitimate counters and solutions to all of my points, you'll have a good paper. EDIT: And yes...Jessica Lynch WAS absolutely an idiot. EDIT: I agree with everything you say, Nathan, except it hasn't been conclusively proven WHO has the higher tolerance for pain. You have to take in the persons culture to determine that--ie: a woman here in the US who has never done anything difficult in her life vs. a Ticuna Indian woman who has all of her hair yanked out when she reaches puberty. Pain management has a lot to do with how and where the woman is raised.
Should women be allowed in combat in the military?
It depends on... ... standards male leaders enforce for young women soldiers. I used to witness lackadaisical leadership from male cadre when it came to female students in schools. The result is the lesser discipline the male soldiers receive from proper standards. ... special AFPT requirements for all combat soldiers. A minimum higher than the standard female requirements should be met. AFPT is about ensuring a particular soldier is in the best shape HE or SHE can possibly be in for that age group. Fitness standards are on a scale and they should be for that reason. But for combat situations, minimums should be increased for female soldiers and strictly adhered to. ... leadership higher up enforcing UCMJ standards from male soldiers to ensure the safety of all soldiers. Knowing you can get away with something because "we always do" is a sure way to sustain friendly attack within the unit. ... just as most soldiers in reality have little problem with gay soldiers who are just as proficient at their jobs, most male soldiers will not have problems with female soldiers if they can see the upheld standards of conduct and job performance. Common myth: Women cannot be in combat because male soldiers will spend all their time worrying about the women. That's a failure in training, not a valid worry. Again, if all are trained well and soldiers learn to trust their battle buddy as the constant drilling does, a male soldier will trust his female battle buddy is low-crawling her way under the exploded truck bringing more ammunition to the fire fight. Common truths: Men have explosive strength that women just do not have. True. No way around that one. But not all combat situations or jobs are hand-to-hand combat. Women have special hygiene needs. True. No way around that one. But a healthy female body is least likely to experience the more extreme problems unhealthy or mainstream women experience. Young, fit women have fewer of the most common issues. And again, not all combat unit is the same.
Should women be allowed into combat roles?
If you say that we should meet the male APFT standards to fit combat roles than you should also say that we should have to meet the male APFT standards to fill the other jobs that the males hold also. Because being here, there are males and females who fill combat roles even though they don't have the MOS for it. We all are trained in combat roles. Basic "Combat" Training (BCT) trains us to all be soldiers first. We, both males and females, are soldiers. Be it that I can be a soldier, something I could never be is a man. But we have to stop the belief that their is a difference. You are either a soldier or your not. I will say this and you can check the many times I keep answering this question, we already fill combat roles as the males. There are females who have been in firefights and have been wounded by IEDs, we man the .50cal on gun trucks, carry the heavy 249 Squad Automatic Weapon. We are trained on weapons, fighting wiht bayonets and other training just like the males aside from the APFT. If a female is afraid to fill a combat slot then she should not be a soldier she should be a girl scout. We are soldiers and if we are allowed to serve our country as such we should be allowed to be so under every since of the word. And to be a proficent soldier, one has to do alot more than be good at situps, pushups and running and every soldier, male and female, knows this to be true.
Why does Israel’s IDF officially appoint women into combat positions?
In the IDF a woman recruit is assigned to a combat duty only if she has asked for it and only a small number combat positions that are open to women.Women can serve as air crew (pilot,navigators etc) ,naval offices,divers , some infantry units in mixed battalions , border patrol, MP’s, Combat doctors & paramedics .In the combat units were women serve, they do the same job as men do and are exposed to the same risks. Over the years we have lost a few of them:In 2006 during the 2nd Lebanon war a female crew member was killed when her helicopter crashed.In the last 2 years 2 female border patrol offices were killed by terrorist in Jerusalem. Some women have also received recognition for bravery under fire. Captain Or Ben Yehuda who during a border skirmish continued to fight and command her unit after she was injured.Lieutenant Dr Regina Pikman ,a combat doctor assigned the 605 Combat engineers battalion, while under fire took care of people who were injured when a mortar attack hit a their field hospital. From personal knowledge I know that she entered and her paramedics entered the Gaza strip in 2014 with the 605 battalion. So did many others.
Should women be allowed to fight in military combat?
Many women already find themselves in "combat." They are just not allowed in combat arms such as Infantry et al. There are no "front lines" When was the last time terrorists lined up in trenches and met us head on? They are already in dangerous and hazardous duties. That is the nature of the military. The larger problem with females in Combat arms is the differing hygiene needs. A company of Infantry can go weeks or a month at a time with nothing more than a five gallon water can bath. Females cannot. I worked with females as part of my company the entire time I was in as an MP. Even during a normal field exercise the females could go no longer than 72 hours and we had to release them to go find a shower somewhere, gym. whatever. Us guys could go a week and that is just training in a TRADOC environment. Put folks in hostile zones with added diseases, shi** flying through the dust that is unknown to us period and you have created more problems than you solved by being politically correct. The numbnuts in Washingon couldn't handle a two day camping trip in their 100K Winnebago without having to head on home completely exhausted yet they know exactly what is best for folks deployed in the military but they base their thinking on that experience. Well my wife and daughter went with us and they are just fine. I could go on but I'll shut up for now but it's like this, when they make 1 Standard scoring card for the Physical Fitness test that neither delineates between male and female and females would not be harmed by going days on end in the most crappiest environments we could send them too then by all means, lets open up combat arms jobs to females. I'll be patiently holding my breath, Not.