Women Allowed Into Combat?
Should Women Be Allowed In to Combat?
Nicole Jarvis
BCOM/275
10/23/2011
Should Women Be Allowed In To Combat?
There are so many jobs that soldiers do to protect us that there are too many to list. There is one job that not everyone who enlists in the armed forces is allowed to do. Women are not allowed to fight alongside men in combat situations. Author Robert Bork, gives reasons as to why women should not be allowed into combat alongside men. Some reasons given were lower morale and bonding between males, differences in physical fitness and men will become distracted from their duties to protect female soldiers.
Over 200,000 women serve in the armed forces, comprising more than 17% of the total force. 80% of the jobs and more than 90% of the career fields are open to women (userpages.aug.com). That is not a lot of women serving compared to the amount of men. The job percent however, is a lot, with one exception, combat. One argument that was stated is women are weaker than men. This may be true of some women but not all. Army researchers conducted a study using 41 women who did the same workout regimen that men do. More than 75% of the women studied were able to prepare themselves to successfully perform the duties that male soldiers do. Prior to training, 25% of the women were able to perform the tasks (userpages.sug.com). Women are built different than men. But because of this there are different physical abilities that offer unique capabilities in combat, i.e. distance running.
Another argument is that the presence of women in combat or training causes sexual tension. Many men and women work as astronauts, doctors, and police officers. Yet there are no debates on this. In nearly ten years, the United States military has been fighting two wars with a majority of units that include both men and women (Blair). He also argued that women will threaten the bonding and cohesion between male soldiers. They would weaken
Nicole Jarvis
BCOM/275
10/23/2011
Should Women Be Allowed In To Combat?
There are so many jobs that soldiers do to protect us that there are too many to list. There is one job that not everyone who enlists in the armed forces is allowed to do. Women are not allowed to fight alongside men in combat situations. Author Robert Bork, gives reasons as to why women should not be allowed into combat alongside men. Some reasons given were lower morale and bonding between males, differences in physical fitness and men will become distracted from their duties to protect female soldiers.
Over 200,000 women serve in the armed forces, comprising more than 17% of the total force. 80% of the jobs and more than 90% of the career fields are open to women (userpages.aug.com). That is not a lot of women serving compared to the amount of men. The job percent however, is a lot, with one exception, combat. One argument that was stated is women are weaker than men. This may be true of some women but not all. Army researchers conducted a study using 41 women who did the same workout regimen that men do. More than 75% of the women studied were able to prepare themselves to successfully perform the duties that male soldiers do. Prior to training, 25% of the women were able to perform the tasks (userpages.sug.com). Women are built different than men. But because of this there are different physical abilities that offer unique capabilities in combat, i.e. distance running.
Another argument is that the presence of women in combat or training causes sexual tension. Many men and women work as astronauts, doctors, and police officers. Yet there are no debates on this. In nearly ten years, the United States military has been fighting two wars with a majority of units that include both men and women (Blair). He also argued that women will threaten the bonding and cohesion between male soldiers. They would weaken
References: