[Smocker]

Cholera,

Girls don't belong on the battlefield. If women want to serve this nation in non combat capacities, certain accomodations should be made, not accomodations which harm the nations' military capacity to fight.

The politicians in Washington who ensured that Jessica Lynch and her friends Lori and Shoshanna, ended up on the battlefield, are emasculated men who have let females do their fighting for them. I have no respect for them, I don't care if they are democrats or republicans they are equally culpable for the shame of American women on the battlefield.
I view the feminists as equally culpable, lots of big words to send others to do what they themselves would not do.

[CholeraJoe]

Jessica and Shosanna were support troops. Jessica was a supply clerk and Soshanna was a cook. They ended up on the battlefield because their commander made a wrong turn, not because some politically correct desk jockey in the Pentagon wanted to send women into combat. Think back to Bataan. Army Nurses were taken POW by the Japanese. Noncombatants

There are women in the USAF and Navy who fly combat aircraft, however. Most of the ones I knew were pretty good pilots, too.

One of the female POW's from GWI was an Army Flight Surgeon. The other was in a transportation company. Noncombatants.

In civilian life, women are astronauts, cops, firefighters, prison guards, loggers, cab drivers and heavy equipment operators - all dangerous occupations. All volunteers. No one forces anyone to do anything dangerous.

[airborne]

I respectfully disagree sir. Every American soldier, man or woman, is taught in Basic Training to fire an M-16. That is just in case somebody 'makes a wrong turn'(which is what happened. That way everyone is able to defend themselves. I respect any woman who is willing to give their life for their country.