[cherry]

what an attitude....

I suppose you will join the Army or Marines now and volunteer for Iraqi duty so all these young women don't have to....

IF we had enough young men to fill the ranks then it would be one story...

trouble is ..we don't ...

I encourage young people all the time to join the service or at least to join the Reserves or Guard....not many takers...

I will say it : THANK YOU JESSICA LYNCH AND ALL THE OTHERS WHO HAVE TAKEN IT UPON THEMSELVES TO SERVE OUR COUNTRY, A COUNTRY THAT DOES NOT APPRECIATE YOUR SACRIFICE AND DEDICATION......

a simple thankyou to our service men and women isn't that hard....

[TheCrusader]

"IF we had enough young men to fill the ranks then it would be one story...trouble is ..we don't ..."

Huh? There hasn't been a need for the draft in over 28 years because the all volunteer military is working very well. Women aren't needed in combat roles in the military, and they aren't wanted there. Their training is easier than their male counterparts just so they can pass the tests and wear the uniform.

More females 'sailors' get discharged early because of pregnancies than you can shake a stick at. I have read about more good soldiers, including highly competent and capable General Officers, be forced to leave the military for "sexual harrassment", (asking for a date), that they could almost make up a regiment of their own. Take feminism and stick it where the sun don't shine.

[ForGod'sSake]

I suppose you will join the Army or Marines..

Been there; done that; a long time ago.

I encourage young people all the time to join the service or at least to join the Reserves or Guard....not many takers...

Well, if push comes to shove, there's always selective service. There are plenty of young people to serve, and particularly since 9/11 I don't know of many recruiters having any problems. Young folks just need to be motivated. With bent willie gone, the military will once again gain some of the respect they deserve and the volunteers will follow.

There were 15 soldiers killed in a helicopter shootdown not 2 days ago. In 2 more days it will be old news. What makes Jessica's situation any more newsworthy than that story? Because she is a female?

FGS

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

IF we had enough young men to fill the ranks then it would be one story...

Come now. The reason that women have been asigned front line positions has absolutely nothing to do with a shortage of male soldiers and support personnel. It has everything to do with socialist PC politics having infiltrated the command structures of the Military. That being said, I certainly applaud the bravery and integrity of any woman who joins the ranks at the front, and my heart goes out for PFC Lynch. I just think it is a destructve policy to allow female personnel to be put in such harms way.

[William Terrell]

IF we had enough young men to fill the ranks then it would be one story...

As of 2000 there were 138,000,000 men. There were 107,000,000 both under 18 and 65 and over. We could say that half of that group are male leaving 53,000,000. Subtract 53,000,000 from 138,000,000, leaving 85,000,000.

Let's further reduce that by 1/3 to get an estimate of how many men are of age to join the armed forces. 85,000,000 - 28,000,000 = 57,000,000.

Now let'a say that half (ridiculous, but we'll be conservative) are otherwise unfit for service. That leaves 28,000,000 fully qualified men.

How many men are in the armed forces now?

(#3Fan, I pinged you because you based statements about women in the military on the same premise in another thread.)

[Centurion2000]

IF we had enough young men to fill the ranks then it would be one story...

trouble is ..we don't ...

Like hell we don't, the problem is that women think that they can hack it in a combat zone.

Guess what? Women have NO place in a war zone other than as support for the man that pulls the trigger.