Women in Combat Roles To Whom it may Concern at The Pentagon PFC Coyne

The Problem The problem facing our nation’s military currently is whether or not to allow females to fight in combat roles. This issue has been argued for the past few decades, but has made little progress towards what we really need: an answer. No one can argue that there hasn’t been progress in the effort to integrate the sexes in the United States Military, but ultimately we need to come up with a yes or no answer to females in combat.

The Solution Women have died along side their male brothers in arms, and they deserve the opportunity to serve in combat units if they can meet the same standards as men. This is the equitable option, and as a military that stands for freedom and equity in America it stands to reason we should support it.

The Main Arguments Pro- women in combat Women deserve the opportunity to try and compete for combat unit spots The military has opened up all doors for different races, creeds, sexual orientation, and religions- so why not sexes? Women are an integral piece of U.S. Military operations, and are needed in combat units to keep peace Against women in combat Women and men will form relationships in the battlefield Women can’t meet the same standards as men physically or mentally Women in combat will lower team cohesion Women won’t be safe from rape and assault

The Facts Since the opportunity to compete in combat schools and Special Forces units overseas women have exceeded far beyond what was expected The women who have competed thus far are competing at male standards… and succeeding Regardless of sex, all that is needed is the right man (or woman) for the job. Charles Clymer agrees that not all women are up for the job, but neither are all men If we are to continue modernizing the military and preparing it for the coming battles, we must uphold the equity that is (supposed to be) present in almost all aspects of life in America

The Truth on Anti- Women in Combat Arguments Contrary to popular belief, women and men don’t automatically engage in relationships when put in the same unit. Statistics show that only 6.7% of military marital status is accounted to joint service marriage. That leaves about 93% of military relationship statuses that aren’t between service members. According to a survey of 700 anonymous soldiers who had been deployed only 17% said they had a relationship while in theater, and of that 17% only 4% committed fraternization with another service member. Another concern is that women being thrown in with men in combat units will lower team cohesion. In combat (especially special forces) members of the team must be interchangeable at a moments notice. It is what Anna Simon refers to as “the Goldilocks challenge”. Women have already been given small opportunities to fight in combat missions, mainly as cultural support. Janiece Marquez, a cultural support operator who deployed to Afghanistan in 2011, fit in so well in her temporary team that they made her their gunner in addition to her preforming her job as a cultural support operator. In the current Ranger school trial for women, team cohesion is placed at the upmost importance. Women buddy carry men, sleep in the same barracks, and even shave their hair to a length only slightly longer than men.

The Truth on Anti- Women in Combat Arguments Continued The age old argument is that women aren’t physically capable of keeping up with men. In recent years this argument has been disproven by quite a few women. Ashley White, a member of the first all female combat unit, started her career out strong by joining ROTC and participating in Ranger challenge, where she passed up many of the competing males (much to their surprise). Currently there is a trial run of 19 women in U.S. Army Ranger school, and on day 1 of hell week only 3 females quit (compared to 78 men). The percentages of dropouts showed that women outperformed men in these events at the same standards (84.2% of women passed and 79.5% of males passed) As always, there’s the concern of women being at increased risk of rape and assault. However as Arizona Rep. Martha McSally recently said, "When you have a potential assaulter or rapist in your unit, would you be okay with him staying there and then maybe committing assault on other civilians somewhere else?....I mean, I know that's not what they're saying, but the point is, if you have a perpetrator or a potential perpetrator in a unit, we need to rat out the perpetrator, not close down the opportunity of women to be in that unit because we have potential perpetrators in that unit.” With all that has been done in the military to combat rape through the SHARP program, the issue lies not with women being integrated, but with the rooting out potential rapists already in these units.

Why Women Deserve to Serve in Combat It only makes sense. If they can compete at the same level as men (which they are) then they earn the right to serve at the same level. In the recent Ranger school trials, women aren’t just passing the bare minimum, they are keeping up at a level of most men. At the end of hell week (a period that most students fail during) 48.3% of men were still in the program and 42.1% of females were still enrolled. However, even if these women graduate Ranger school they earn the Ranger tab, but will not be considered for actual Ranger units. If men and women can’t handle being in the same unit without causing problems, all female units are a possibility. As I stated earlier, Ashley White fought and died for her country (competing at the same level as males) in the first all female combat unit. If this unit was a success it stands to reason more like it could be created.

Why Women Deserve to Serve in Combat Continued Women have proved their use in combat situations, especially in civilian affair’s situations. Women are able to communicate more effectively with many foreign citizens without causing as much conflict. This is simply because American female soldiers seem to be more accepted by citizens than male soldiers. There are many women who have already proved themselves in combat Special Forces operations. Janiece Marquez, Ashley White, and Meghan Malloy all have served right along side Special Forces in areas like cultural support and medical.

Now That I Have Your Attention, Lets Re-Visit the Issue at Hand Women have been proving themselves since the decision of Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta to continue integrating women into the military in They have (for the most part) disproven all the counter arguments that say they aren’t cut out for the job. There are many solutions, be it allowing women to serve in all female units, or fully integrating them into male combat units. As writer Charles Clymer said of the future of the issue, “…hopefully [we can] forget about gender and focus on a warrior’s abilities”

To Conclude It is time to start paying attention to warrior ability, and not at race, gender, etc. Under the same idea that Arizona Rep. Martha McSally has vocalized, ultimately it will come down to the willingness of officials to realize that women are not the real issue, it will be up to the military to take initiative to keep the standards high for both genders.