Women in Combat

Congress is currently discussing whether to make permanent some Pentagon regulations governing the place of women in combat support units in the U.S. military. Current regulations forbid women from serving on the front lines of battle, and restrict their place among support units that serve the front lines. The big political problem now for Congress and the Pentagon is the issue of women serving in Iraq against a terrorist/insurgency force operating with guerrilla tactics--there is no front line to distinguish where women may serve and where they may not.

Some members of Congress (MCs) want to remove all female military personnel from Iraq while others just want to limit the regions in Iraq where women may serve. One problem cited for removing all women from Iraq is the already short supply of military personnel, with recruitment for the armed forces continuing to plummet.

It is my personal belief that women should be allowed to serve anywhere that men are allowed to serve. Our armed forces is an ALL VOLUNTEER service (as the Bush administration continually likes to point out). As long as women are volunteering along side men, why should they be denied the opportunity to serve their country in the same way?

As of September 30, 2003, women accounted for around 15% of Navy personnel, 15% of Army, 6% of Marine Corps, 20% of Air Force, 11% of Coast Guard, and 15% of DoD personnel. According to 1990 figures, 38% of military women were racial minorities, as compared to 28% of military men. Additionally, the percentage of jobs available to women varied substantially from service to service: Coast Guard women could serve in 100% of jobs, Air Force women could serve in 97% of jobs, Navy women could serve in 59% of jobs, Army women could serve in 52% of jobs, and Marine women could serve in only 20% of jobs. (Obviously, these numbers relate to the types of positions that require combat or close-combat support.)

If the United States were conscripting soldiers, I could understand the relunctance to place drafted women into harm's way. However, as long as the U.S. military operates a volunteer force, women should be allowed --no, REQUIRED-- to serve in the same capacities as their male counterparts. Why should this country deny equal rights and equal access to women who CHOOSE to serve their country? If this change to an equitable policy means that fewer women enlist, then the military remains a fair and volunteer force. Who is to say that a more equitable policy would not INCREASE female enlistments? At least we would distinguish ourselves from our Arab 'friends' who even refuse to let women drive cars, and we would place ourselves more in line with our Israeli 'friends' who require military service of their women as well as their men.

My two cents, anyway...