[Illbay]

It is hardly "strict segregation of gender roles" to desire going back to the way things were in the military ca. World War II.

Women had and will continue to have a role in the military.

They don't belong in combat, period. They don't belong aboard ships, they don't belong in hazardous duty. That is not their job.

The military exists, as the saying goes, to "kill people and break things." That is a man's role, and one he is well-adapted at doing.

The changes that have been wrought in the military were NEVER made from military necessity, but only at the insistence of radical social engineers on the Left. Their ONLY desire was to insinuate their principles in every facet of public life.

The lowering of standards to accomodate those aims has been a travesty.

[Lorianne]

I don't think most women belong in combat either. But that is a red herring. Most women don't even volunteer for the military, let alone clamour to get into a combat position.

As to "radical social engineers on the left", I can't agree with you. I've never heard anyone, not the staunchest liberal or feminist, argue for numerical parity in the military or in combat. The number of women who would want to go into combat and who qualify is very small. Even if more qualified I doubt large numbers would want a combat deployment. And I don't know of anyone who is pushing women into combat roles. Most liberals and feminists are anti-military and anti-war across the board. They really aren't clamouring for women to be in the military let alone combat.

Meanwhile military service is voluntary and likely to stay that way. There is no quota system for females that I'm aware of in place to fill military positions. There are overall recruitment goals which haven't been met in 11 years. The number of people applying falls short and the number actually fulfilling their enlistment agreements falls short of military goals.

Therefore, there is no reason for the military to accept unqualified or less qualified people unless they simply don't have enough applicants to fill positions. This is a separate problem the military seems to face. If we want more men it would seem to me it would be smarter to heavily recruit and incentivize men, rather than whine and complain about "lower standards" for women.