Women in Combat

Women In Combat “From Kelly Flinn to G.I. Jane, controversy has raged in recent months over whether women are fit for military service” (Brown 326). In the articles “Women Unfit for Combat? Au Contraire!” and “Women are not a Warrior Class,” both authors convey their thoughts on women in combat. Both authors give many reasons why or why not women should be allowed to fight in combat. Timothy Brown, the author of “Women Unfit for Combat? Au Contraire!” gives many more strong examples to argue his case than the author of “Women are not a Warrior Class” and, consequently, has a more persuasive essay. In an effort to discourage women from considering combat rolls in the military, Paul Hackett, one of the authors of “Women are not a Warrior Class,” made this bold statement in his argument, “Can women master the skills and strategies of combat as well as men? Yes. Can women mentally endure the rigors of combat as well as men? Yes. Can women meet the physical rigors of combat at the level required by the U.S. forces and in particular the U.S. Marine Corps? Absolutely not!” Is it fair to assume that women are incapable of having the stability to fight in combat? Brown uses the women commandos of Nicaragua who fought for their country to argue his point that if given the opportunity and encouragement, American women could effectively perform well in combat. Since the beginning of time, women have been viewed as the weaker sex. Through the years, the stature of women in society has grown, leading a way for women to become not the male’s possession but his equal. This is not true all the time, especially when dealing with women in combat. James Collins another author of “Women Unfit for Combat” argues that when women are put in life threatening conditions, many of them would rise to the challenge, but he doesn’t believe that women should be allowed to be on the front line in combat. As Brown explains, anyone who wants to fight on the front line for his/her country should be

Bibliography: Work Cited Brown, Timothy C. “Women Unfit for Combat? Au Contraire,” The Structure of Argument. 1994. Bedford/St. Martin’s Collins, James, Paul L. Hackett, Bill Norton. “Women are not a Warrior Class,” The Structure of Argument. 1994. Bedford/St. Martin’s The New American Desk Encyclopedia Penguin Group, New York, 1998 Women’s History in America Presented by Women’s International Center (WIC) www.wic.org/misc/history.htm Word Count: 638