Walter Williams: Women in Combat

http://townhall.com ^ | February 6, 2013 | Walter Williams

[this_ol_patriot]

LOL WND from 2001, tell that to my future daughter-in-law's sister. She is indeed a frontline IDF soldier at this time. she is US born, married an Israeli soldier and is now a soldier herself. BTW while she is or could be on the frontlines, her hubby is a jet mechanic and never will be.

My son met her when he was doing contract work on a base near Be'er Sheva.

[Ransomed]

They should have a few all-female combat units to see how it’s going to work out, so as to achieve a true gender-neutral baseline.

Obviously.

Freegards

[neverdem]

What is the fuss here? Israel has had frontline women soldiers in the IDF for years.

That's not true. That only happened in 1948.

'Equality' on the Battlefield

--snip--

The experience of the Israelis, a democratic nation that has deployed women to combat zones, is instructive. Phyllis Chesler reported in a symposium on Islamic Terror and Sexual Mutilation:

"Soon after the establishment of the IDF, the removal of all women from front-line positions was decreed. Decisive for this decision was the very real possibility of falling into enemy hands as prisoners of war. It was fair and equitable, it was argued, to demand from women equal sacrifice and risk; but the risk for women prisoners of rape and sexual molestation was infinitely greater than the same risk for men."

During the same symposium, Dr. David Gutman said:

"During the Israeli War of Independence Jewish fighters, including female soldiers captured by Arab irregulars, were routinely tortured and mutilated in the most obscene ways (by contrast, water-boarding would have furnished a pleasant interlude), and IDF officers warned their troops against being taken alive."

John Luddy of the Heritage Foundation cites the demoralizing effects on unit cohesion, another vital consideration. Male soldiers who saw their fellow women soldiers mutilated in obscene ways were devastated. Luddy writes:

"For example, it is a common misperception that Israel allows women in combat units. In fact women have been barred from combat in Israel since 1950, when a review of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War showed how harmful their presence could be. The study revealed that men tried to protect and assist women rather than continue their attack. As a result, they not only put their own lives in greater danger, but also jeopardized the survival of the entire unit. The study further revealed that unit morale was damaged when men saw women killed and maimed on the battlefield."

[this_ol_patriot]

That's only special forces and commando operations, look up Nachshol Reconnaissance Company or Caracal Battalion, about 4% of the IDF combat units are women.

I'm not saying that the US needs to follow this model, Israel of course is vastly out-numbered by the Arabs and needs all the personnel they can muster.

[neverdem]

That's only special forces and commando operations, look up Nachshol Reconnaissance Company or Caracal Battalion, about 4% of the IDF combat units are women.

In recent years, the opportunities open to women in combat units have grown, including through the establishment of the mixed-gender Caracal Battalion, in which women and men serve together as combat soldiers. The IDF reached a new milestone in 2006, establishing its first company consisting entirely of female combat soldiers – the Nachshol (Hebrew for "giant wave") Reconnaissance Company.

The Nachshol Company is part of the 80th Division of the Southern Command and is stationed along the Egypt-Israel border. This unit's central mission is to patrol and gather field intelligence in real time, requiring long hours of camouflaged undercover scouting. Nachshol soldiers sign up for an extra year of military service, serving a total of three years instead of the two years required of Israeli women.

The source claims to be an IDF blog. That company is not co-ed. Do they need an extra year of physical training?

By contrast, 60 percent of Caracal’s soldiers are women.

--snip--

In line with its policy not to discuss troop deployment, the military declined to provide the battalion’s size.

--snip--

Resolving logistical issues like building separate sleeping quarters and bathrooms were a first hurdle.

That's not co-ed. Both the company and the battalion sound more like the exception and not the rule by organization, not just by sex.

Is this an infantry battalion with the usual number of personnel? I have to wonder if there are any mixed gender rifle companies, rifle platoons, rifle squads or fire teams. How about mortar platoons or antitank platoons?

In the U.S. it may vary slightly whether it's Marine Corps or Army, e.g. airborne, airmobile, mechanized, motorized, etc., but the typical infantry battalion has three rifle companies each with three rifle platoons. Assorted crew served weapons are distributed according to their particular tables of organization and equipment.

[SoCal Pubbie]

Women in combet roles in the IDF are a direct result of left wingers in the Knesset forcing the change. The leadership of the IDF are under fire for dragging their feet to get more females in combat positions. The generals don’t want them there.