As a child of a mother who both served and retired
from the Air Force, I am aware of the many barriers that women must go through
while in the military. The most recent issue that females of the military
forces of the United States of America are facing is the lack of women that are
allowed to join front-line combat units. Though the ban has been lifted as the
Pentagon continue to gather information on whether or not the thousands of
combat-related jobs reserved for men should be opened to both sexes, the lack
of urgency used by the Pentagon to resolve the situation has put the military
in danger of losing some of its most-qualified and committed female soldiers if
there are no chances for them to be a part of combat.
While
reading an article on this subject, I learned that there is currently a federal
lawsuit that is seeking to lift of these restrictions. The argument against those
women that are trying to seek justice is that there is fear that women lacked
the strength and agility to fight and survive in the harshest conditions with
their male counterparts. Though thousands of women have been a part of ground
units in recent wars, many have still prevented from being on the front-line
units that are trained to be engaged with the enemy. Many women who do have
combat experience have been facing the tough decision of whether not to reenlist
in the military since combat experience is crucial to the advancement of their
careers
Personally,
my view on this situation is simple. There are plenty of physical tests and
courses that one must complete in order to be considered fit for front-line
combat. If women are able to pass those tests, they should be fairly considered
to a part of those units that are engaged with going against the enemy. As much
as physical preparation plays and important part of combat, so is mental stability.
There isn’t any argument about whether or not women are more mentally
acceptable versus men, so why question their physical abilities if they are
able to pass the tests that are necessary to be qualified? Is this another case
of a “boys only” mentality in the armed forces?
