Posted on 09/09/2009 4:26:04 AM PDT by myknowledge
WOMEN should be able to serve in all frontline combat units of the Australian Defence Force, including the SAS and commando units, under a controversial plan that could avert a looming recruitment crisis.
The push by Defence Personnel and Science Minister Greg Combet would remove gender as a criterion for selection for specialised categories of military service.
The Rudd government wants to lift the proportion of women serving in the defence force from the current level of 13 per cent, as demographic pressures bear down on defence force recruitment over the next decade.
Removing any gender discrimination for serving in combat roles would put Australia in front of its key allies, including the US and Britain, which continue to carefully restrict where women can serve in the front line.
Mr Combet, a former ACTU national secretary, told parliament yesterday the Defence Science and Technology Organisation would develop a new set of physical employment standards for the army that would accurately measure a person's ability to perform the broad variety of jobs in the modern defence force. "A priority of the government is to improve the recruitment and retention of women in the ADF," he said. "My own view is that all categories should be open to women. The only exceptions should be where the physical demands cannot be met according to criteria that are determined on the basis of scientific analysis, rather than assumptions about gender."
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.news.com.au ...
Would you want to see women soldiers on the battlefields, even women fighter pilots on fast jets?
Soon after Defense Secretary Les Aspin announced in 1993 that women could be placed in US military combat roles, the New York Air National Guard offered Maj. Jackie Parker an F-16 assignment. Throughout her Air Force career, she had been the first female in a number of traditionally male assignments. She was Reese AFB's first T-38 instructor pilot and the first female graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School.
read more here
http://www.wingsoverkansas.com/bonnie/article.asp?id=675
Only menopausal ones should serve as ground troops - they’re more vicious than any other subgroup of either gender ;).
LQ, feeling mighty cranky these days
I think that this issue is now well settled in the Canadian Forces. Women have proven themselves in all capacities in all branches, including combat capacities.
Just as the whole Pat Tillman incident (or any number of times men screwed up on the battle field) destroyed the credibility of men in combat roles? Ridiculous!
It has everything to do with the fact that Navy brass knew she had no business flying that aircraft in the first place. Any man with her performance record would have been flunked out of naval aviation long before they could get into a situation like that.
If anything this makes the case for women: the more mainstream it becomes, the less PC attitudes will come into play
This is insanity.
This is definitely a case of ‘be careful what you wish for’. A draft will no longer be able to exclude women. Maybe there is no draft now but if the Aussies get into a tight situation, the sheilas can’t be excluded.
Interesting point. But let’s be honest here. The only reason we’re seeing this push for women in the armed forces is that more and more nations are coming to RELY on them due to a lack of interest in the military among young men.
But I don't think anyone would have suggested that the pilot of that aircraft wasn't adequately prepared to fly it.
I think giving people the freedom to choose and compete for the jobs of their choice is not only just, it is smart. What business will do better: one who will only hire people who are tall/brown eyed/born in Texas/male/white/whatever...or those who will hire the most qualified candidate regardless of those other attributes?
If women can do the job as well or better, I say, let them.
But the reality is that the issue of women in combat roles is no different than what we've seen with women in many other "traditionally male" roles. You probably couldn't find a single law enforcement agency, fire department, etc. that hasn't instituting "gender norms" that hold women to lower standards than men for identical roles.
“...including the SAS and commando units...”
They can form their own Tactical Women’s Assault Team.
(Nod of the head to Cheech & Chong)
understood, differen’t opinions, but whether or not he was prepared to fly that plane, or that women was prepared to fly her plane, my point was still things can happen and true maybe some women would not fit best in these positions,
Still i believe that anyone can fill these positions and even with years under their belt, things can and truthfully will happen, i really don’t know that it’s based on gender. We each have our own paths to choose and i do pray that male or female that choose to serve our country will make the choice to do so with 100% certainty that this is where they want to be and will do their job with that same 100% attitude.
We have that now.
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