should women be allowed on the front line ?
Should women be able to be on the front line?
The US military has officially lifted the ban preventing female soldiers from fighting on the frontline.
Since women are already allowed this right in countries like Australia, Canada and Germany, we ask whether it is time for change in the UK...
YES
Says ANDY McNAB, SAS Hero
THE US military’s lifting of the ban on women serving in combat roles has re-opened debate in Britain.
But if women fulfill the requirements of the role I do not see a problem with them being placed anywhere.
Women are involved in the battle space all the time. Even going back to the Second World War and the Special Operations Executive, all the casualty lists include women who were fighting.
I spent two years on undercover ops in Derry in Northern Ireland.
My first commander, who used to be on the ground, was a woman and on her second tour. It is a hugely risky job.
The SAS have always used women.
There are women in the Navy in command of weapons systems capable of blowing up half the planet.
When I went to Helmand province in Afghanistan I went out on patrol with women. I met Captain Kate Philip there about a week before she had her foot blown off. She was out on the ground.
There was a female medic out in Afghanistan who went on a patrol which came under fire.
A paratrooper froze and the medic took his gun and started shooting at the Taliban and killed two of them. Then everyone had to run and she was so cool she put on her iPod before moving.
Currently females cannot technically fight in front line units in our Army, but they can be attached to these units. Critics say females won’t be strong enough for an infantry battalion.
But when you go to the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick, Yorks, a lot of the training officers are women.
Others say people won’t fight because they’ll be concerned about looking after the women, but times have moved on.
With women, you could have a more balanced fighting force
The US military has officially lifted the ban preventing female soldiers from fighting on the frontline.
Since women are already allowed this right in countries like Australia, Canada and Germany, we ask whether it is time for change in the UK...
YES
Says ANDY McNAB, SAS Hero
THE US military’s lifting of the ban on women serving in combat roles has re-opened debate in Britain.
But if women fulfill the requirements of the role I do not see a problem with them being placed anywhere.
Women are involved in the battle space all the time. Even going back to the Second World War and the Special Operations Executive, all the casualty lists include women who were fighting.
I spent two years on undercover ops in Derry in Northern Ireland.
My first commander, who used to be on the ground, was a woman and on her second tour. It is a hugely risky job.
The SAS have always used women.
There are women in the Navy in command of weapons systems capable of blowing up half the planet.
When I went to Helmand province in Afghanistan I went out on patrol with women. I met Captain Kate Philip there about a week before she had her foot blown off. She was out on the ground.
There was a female medic out in Afghanistan who went on a patrol which came under fire.
A paratrooper froze and the medic took his gun and started shooting at the Taliban and killed two of them. Then everyone had to run and she was so cool she put on her iPod before moving.
Currently females cannot technically fight in front line units in our Army, but they can be attached to these units. Critics say females won’t be strong enough for an infantry battalion.
But when you go to the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick, Yorks, a lot of the training officers are women.
Others say people won’t fight because they’ll be concerned about looking after the women, but times have moved on.
With women, you could have a more balanced fighting force