I was with you 100% down to “doctors and nurses”. So, now I’m 90%.
I believe one should be honest and apply the “would I want my daughter confronting some big ape forcefully trying to board a billion dollar warship with a gun in her hand?”
Everyone but the president of NOW would say No!
This guy could have been a killer terrorist and cut her head off in a split second on the way to 72 virgins! The Navy should not have had her in that position period!
Finally, there are many non combatant roles in the Navy that women can, and historically have, handled.
“Finally, there are many non combatant roles in the Navy that women can, and historically have, handled.”
The question is not whether they can handle a role; it’s whether they should.
The answer to that question is no. They do not belong on ships, as ships can find themselves in combat with no warning. They do not belong in shore support jobs, because sailors need to rotate into those jobs when they come off sea duty.
You can’t stay on sea duty—the tip of the spear—continuously for 20 years. You need some time ashore to unwind, and perhaps even see your family. If women are in those shore billets, there is no place to which one can rotate.
Doctors and nurses. Period.