Women have been in the military officially since the Women's Armed Services Integration Act in 1948. Since the act was passed by congress, women have quickly climbed the military ladder. In 1976, women were allowed to enter the armed services academies, and in 1991, women were allowed to enter combat zones, though they were under strict orders not to be engaged in combat.
Today, approximately 14.5 percent of all active duty service members are women. The growing number of women in the military led the United States government to allow women full access to all military positions in all branches in 2013.
Currently, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has set the deadline of full integration for women in all roles including special operations. According to military.com, "In less than two months, about 220,000 jobs never before open to women will be potential new landing spots". However the decision has met considerable backlash from both sides.
Two obvious sides have emerged in the fight for female inclusion. On one side there are the supporters who see this move as one that makes the military a more inclusive entity that is strengthened through equality. The other side is extremely against the move, citing the performance standards and the importance of maintaining the strength of the military in combat.
In recent years, supporters of full female integration have cited the prevalence of females that inadvertently ended up in combat during the Iraq and Afghan conflicts. Women such as SGT. Leigh Hester who killed multiple enemy combatants after her convoy was attacked were proof that women could operate in combat environments.
Furthermore supporters see women as having an integral role in combat roles. This argument is extremely valid as female service members are invaluable in gaining intelligence from muslim women, a job which only they can perform. This is an extremely important role as the current method of warfare in the middle east involves winning the hearts and minds of the civilian populations. They see the slow integration as the purposeful dragging of feet by military officials, particularly the Marines.
The military has done multiple studies that females work better together, and are better at solving problems and thinking critically. Another prevailing thought its that women give an importance balance and help keep the integrity of good recruits of volunteers.
The opposition is fairly set on the argument of performance. Most of the criticism lies in the fact that most women cannot meet the standards that are set for males in combat roles. The fitness levels needed are non negotiable, and any change in these to allow women would erode the capabilities of the combat units.
Unit cohesion has also played a large role in the backlash against females in combat. In trials run by the United States, mixed gender units did not perform as well as segregated units. The trust and teamwork simply was not present. The military is a very traditional setting, and for many males, female combat soldiers are unwelcome and distrusted.
Overall, especially the Marines, there is a slow and begrudging response to the integration as Army Secretary feels it is a rushed plan, "full integration will likely take several years, both to adjust the culture and to grow individual skills".
The military as a whole is divided on the issue of female service. With the politics and policies of gender on the front page of our news, the integration has become embroiled in politics. Despite the looming April 1st deadline, the integration will not be complete in time. Until further planning and research is completed, the argument against female combat service due to physical performance will justifiably questioned.
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2016/02/10/women-combat-jobs-congress-generals-pentagon-leaders/79876228/
http://www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume7/images/nov/women_military_timeline.pdf
I think its interesting how studies have found that Women work better together. The part that annoys me the most is the fact that, so what if women can't meet the fitness levels set by men, if they give it their all, and work to become the most fit possible then that's all that should matter. Good post!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think it's best that we use all the help we can get. In an age of advancing technology, it's barbaric to argue that women don't stack up to men on the battlefield with proper training, of course. You framed the issue well in a way that was easy to read. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteYou did really good job providing pros and cons having female soldiers in the US military. As a libertarian, I want to treat male and female equally and fairly. What that means is that we have to look at outcome instead of other factors. I know, for sure, that there would be women who can make better outcome than some men while there would be men who can make better outcome than female. We have to treat them as same human, and all we have to look at is their ability and possible outcome that they can bring. Finally, we also have to consider that 21st century is not all about physical performance. Our era is an era of Drone, and technological advance, which means physical ability is not as important as that was in 20th century. However, I really enjoyed your reading, your post is well written with the facts and arguments from each side.
ReplyDeleteI think the standards to enter the military should be held as high as they have always been. That being said, if a female meets every physical requirement to get in, her biological sex should not be what prevents her from getting to serve her country.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job of eloquently presenting all angles of the issue. I think having women in the Armed Forces can have a ton of benefits, like being able to communicate with Muslim women. I personally think that if they are going into a combat role, they should be able to complete all of the requirements as men, which many women can.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting post. Perhaps a solution to the inability of a mixed gender unit to trust and work well together would be to focus more time on trust building and team work. It is possible that the military will have to change their training techniques that worked well in all male situations but may not in mixed units.
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