Bad Idea...
Posted on 02/18/2012 7:20:22 AM PST by BarnacleCenturion
The Pentagon made big news last week when it announced it was opening up more combat positions to women in the U.S. military. These 14,000 positions include tank mechanics and front line intelligence officers. However, about one-fifth of active-duty military positions, including the infantry, combat tank units and special operations commando units, will remain off-limits.
...
Last week’s rule change in the United States was largely a reflection of the fact that women are, to a large extent, already participating in combat. Despite the restrictions in place, 144 American women have been killed and 865 wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001, according to the Defense Department.
The number of countries that have opened front line combat positions is also larger than you might think (or than media reports sometimes suggest). A 2010 survey by the British Ministry of Defense listed Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania and Sweden as countries that allow women in “close combat roles,” defined as “engaging an enemy on the ground with individual or crew served weapons, while being exposed to hostile fire and to a high probability of direct physical contact with the hostile forces personnel.” Australia joined that list in September 2011 when it opened its front-line units — including one of the largest contingents in Afghanistan — to women.
A handful of other countries could probably also be added. South Korea has begun opening up more front line positions to women, including in artillery and armored divisions. Women have fought in Eritrea’s military since its war of independence from Ethiopia in 1991 — at one point they made up 30 percent of the country’s combat forces — and are required, along with men, to serve a year and a half of military service. Women have flown combat missions as fighter pilots for Britain, Pakistan, Serbia, South Africa, the United States and others.
In Israel, which is well known as one of the few countries where women are drafted, the policy is evolving. Santorum cited Israel as a country that doesn’t allow women on the front lines because of the psychological effect it has on men. But in fact, the Israeli military does allow women in the vast majority of combat positions.
“Kseniya Agarkova is not just a pretty Russian brunette. She can shoot rifles, assemble machine guns in a flash, and floor the fiercest attackers.”
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t doubt she could get down ON the floor with men, but I don’t believe she could floor very many guys. It is that feminist, Hollywood BS that won’t last 10 seconds in hand-to-hand combat.
That's why they use guns.
Bad Idea...
That's certainly true -- but there may also have been an element of anyone big enough to carry a weapon, fights!
I’ve got some real concerns due to the recent deployment to Afghanistan of 6 female soldiers from our local National Guard unit.
I don’t have any issues with them being deployed to Afghanistan but I do have issues with the fact that they’re being pulled from behind desks at a transportation unit and will “accompany” combat troops on patrols to act as liaisons to Afghan women in remote villages.
When these troops go out on patrol, they may not intend to enter combat but combat often comes to them. Add in a half dozen women who write newsletters and file paperwork and you’re asking for trouble.
The local newspaper quoted one of them as looking forward to seeing the beauty of Afghanistan, helping the Afghan women, and writing about her experiences. This 20 year old women spoke like she was going on vacation.
“That’s why they use guns.”
Sorry, but you don’t understand the picture.
Sometimes, things go wrong. Sometimes you are outnumbered. And even using a gun isn’t easy when you’ve been carrying 100 lbs of gear for 16 hours.
Women make fine soldiers in peacetime, or when everything is going right. But when everything is going to crap, a 120 lb woman is NOT what you want at your side. In bed, maybe, but not at your side when you think dying is a very real possibility.
I agree with you there. That is wrong.
They're in Clermont, sir! Thirty kilometers behind enemy lines!
Well , that a fact. There are no front lines these days.
A woman could be sitting in a meeting in a secure area, and one of the Muslims we have taken in, trained and trusted could decide to kill everyone in the room.
And they don’t have to be in Iraq or Afghanistan, they could be in Ft. Worth.
You win!
Aw c'mon! It can't be all that bad. After all, SF had Martha Raye, and the SEALs have Demi Moore.
/sarc
lol
Those left behind might be able to get a few weeks of some good training in the meantime.
One of the reasons why we have 20 million illegal aliens and Cartel violence spilling over into the United States is because we allowed women into front line Border Patrol units. If you want to demoralize our troops and lose battles one of the best ways to do it is to put women in combat units.
Is that when you call in the A-10s? Look, I understand the point you're trying to make. But you don't understand modern warfare.
Women in combat might well be a violation of the Geneva Convention to which we remain signatories. They are just too damn mean!
So a beauty contest is now considered the front line?
Yeah - I don’t understand modern warfare. I only spent 25 years in the military, and deployed on the ground in Afghanistan in 2007.
My son just got back from Afghanistan in December.
But what do I know? Hint - a lot more than you do, apparently.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.