On Thursday, Rumsfeld ordered a review of the department’s policy on sexual assault and the treatment of victims....prompted by a Jan. 25 Denver Post article that reported 37 female servicemembers sought counseling and other help from civilian rape crisis organizations after returning from war duty in Iraq and Kuwait.
Several soldiers interviewed Saturday in Iraq and Afghanistan said they were not aware of any sexual assaults in their units.
“I haven’t heard of anything like that,” said Pfc. Francesca Duke, of the 501st Military Police Company,
Sgt. Pamela Beasley of 2nd Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, 1st Armored Division, “Nine times out of 10, if anybody were caught doing something like that, they’re gone..”
Roughly 59,742 women have served in Afghanistan and Iraq between October 2002 and November 2003. About 92 percent of military jobs are open to women.
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Perspective, ping.
37 / 59,742 = a 0.06% sexual assault problem
That is six one hundredths of one percent. If that is correct within an order of magnitude, no wonder most soldiers have not heard of a problem. Wonder if the civilian population behaves as honorably?
Southern chivalrous upbringing and natural instinct are difficult to overcome -- especially under stress. My fear re having a female in combat alongside me is that I might find myself instinctively covering her, rather than looking out for #1 -- or my male buddies... (No chauvinism; just the way I was "brung up".)
The fundamental principle is to understand the difference between affirmative action and equal opportunity.
Affirmative action treats men and women as interchangable units regardless of ability to accomplish essential tasks; equal opportunity allows all individuals to compete and prove their ability to perform seamlessly in mission critical environments.
In WWII women could and did fly everything in the American Air Arsenal including the (then) mammouth B-29's. They were an invaluable resource when they ferried planes from assembly plants to military bases, served as target tow pilots and many cases trained aircrew in their respective positions in Bombers and cargo craft.
That did not automatically qualify them to serve in Combat Units, though it is likely a few would have passed the necessary tests.
Best regards,