Essay On Women In Combat

Personally, I don't think women need to be in combat roles for the U.S. military. Mainly due to the simple fact that no one is ready to implamente this until all the kinks are worked out. One of the biggest kinks is the enviroment women will face when they are in a combat unit. In my personal experience, along with others who serve as combat arms, a lot of men are very unprofessional at times (ex. they're deployed or in the field) and discuss very real and innappropriate topics. As a leader, it is hard to manage what is said by your subordinates and it becomes less of a concern when you have to worry about being killed. On the other hand, some women don't understand this and end up reporting their fellows service members for sexual harassment or misconduct. As a result, numerous reports are made and this makes it hard to distinguish what is legitimate and what is not.

Here is my solution: until men and women are professional to handle being together in a enviroment where
statements can be made, without the risk of being reported or harrassed, they don't need to serve together in a combat zone for a long period of time. Service members need to watch what they say around others and treat everyone on their team with respect. Trust is paramont in combat. You can't be a unit and be divided at the same time. Service members also need to learn when and when not to report others. If the situation is out their control and is truely inappropriate, that is when they need to talk to leadership.

Sexual assault in combat units may increase when you add women to the equation. However, it should not matter. Members of combat arms need to be cautious of these acts and make sure no one is ever assaulted. If the female feels at risk, she needs to have a variety of actions she can take to report these incidents or behaviors. Likewise, women don't need to make false accusations against their fellow service members. Yes, I understand sexual encounters shouldn't occur between service members. It happens though and men and women in the military need to understand the reprucussions of doing so.

Another impact that women have made by being allowed to serve in combat is the push for equal testing of physical ability among service members.
This is extremely important because, for a long time, PT test between have been seperate for males and females. It's not fair for a women to qualify for combat roles who have to do a easier PT test while men are held to a higher standard. To fix this, all service members need to be tested equally for the combat MOS they wish to join. I wil throw this out there because this the reality humans face when it comes to physical fitness: women are not built like men. Men are built for combat and have a higher chance of doing the necessities that combat requires. Women are more likely to be injured and are not built the same. Nevertheless, there are some women who are matched with men and are better. But until I see technology that allows people to do physical activities with ease, It is hard to argue that women can do the same things that men can do in
combat.

In short, equality for service members is a good idea. The U.S. and its military are getting aheard of themselves with this idea. Until combat units, and those who wish join them, are professional enough to handle this change, women in combat should not happen. Then, if women (who can pefrom equally to their male counterparts) wish to serve in combat arms, I say let 'em. If they can not perform the same as everyone in their unit and are endangering lives, then they have no place there. The same goes for men who can't perfom either.