subject: Should Women Be Allowed To Serve In Combat Units [print this page] The best research that I have done suggests that it will be recommended to the military that women be allowed to serve in combat units. You may have heard of instances or circumstances where women have been involved in firefights during the present War on Terror. This is an anomaly and not the norm for women in the armed services. These women all served in combat support units or combat service support units. The difference is that the units that they served in are trained to fight but that is not primarily their wartime function. Their function is to provide services to help the combat soldiers do the fighting that they are trained to do.
The reason that they have been involved in firefights is that the nature of warfare has changed. The War on Terror is what we call an asymmetric war. This means that it doesnt follow the rules or the norms of modern warfare. It is very unconventional because of the nature of the enemy that we are fighting. He has to use every underhanded tactic that he can in order to win. He cant fight in the traditional way. He has to avoid combat units if at all possible because they are the most highly trained warriors and go for the rear echelon troops who do not train with weapons as much. If he can disrupt support operations he may be able to degrade the effectiveness of the front line forces. Besides of this the front line troops have the heaviest armored protection because it is their job to be shot at. The lightly armored rear echelon troops dont look for firefights and if they encounter the enemy their job is to simply fight their way out of the bad situation and escape to do their job.
Women troops have obviously performed in a magnificent manner in combat and I believe that this is the reason that the panel is considering recommending that they be allowed to fight in combat units. My personal take on this is that if you really want to go to war with a combat unit, by all means go ahead.
There are mixed reactions among those troops who serve in combat units. Some have expressed their opinion that it is fine with them if women are allowed to fight alongside them in combat, and some have reservations about the idea. One caveat that I want to make is that war is not fun or glamorous. If you can imagine the worst, most messed up, jacked up, disappointing, miserable day of your life and multiply it by 1,000 you will know what a day in combat feels like.
If you man or woman still want to serve a combat tour with a combat unit remember that front line troops rarely get to see the amenities that other troops take for granted. They seldom see the steaks, or fried chicken dinners that rear echelon troops get from time to time. They dont have port a potties when they are on the front lines. You dig a hole and go for it. They dont build fires in winter to keep warm because the fire will give away their position. They cant call in sick and have to continue to fight if they can when wounded in a battle. The enemy is not going to grant a cease fire so that you can go get medical care.
They cant go find air conditioning when the weather gets hot or central heating when it gets cold. There is no umbrella to keep the rain off of your head. There are no hot showers or baths available.
Keep in mind that prolonged combat is totally different from the type war where you may have a firefight every once in a while. Consider these things man, woman or whoever, then make your decision. If you still want to serve in a combat unit go for it. Military Ring Express
