Do Women Belong in Combat?

1
Do Women Belong in Combat?
A Senior Exhibition by Will Patton
2
Current Policies

• Women banned from assignment to combat
• Women can fly attack helicopters and jets
• Women can serve on all navy vessels in support
  roles except submarines

3
History of Women in Military and Combat

• Women have always helped American war effort
• Official exclusion is relatively new, Congress
  passed first exclusion law in 1948
• Draft ended and WAC disestablished
• Secretary of Army exclusion policy in 1977
• Equal Rights Amendment fails in 1982
• 1982 development of DCPCS

4
Positions Open to Women
5
Physiological Differences

• Armed Forces studies demonstrate male advantages
  
• Lean muscle mass
• Upper body strength, leg strength, heavy lifting
• Cardiovascular capacity
• Stamina
• Lower incidence of injury
• Individual women may exceed average male
  performance
• Aggregate ability most important

6
Aggression and Cohesion

• Males are traditionally the warriors
• Crime statistics and biological evidence show
  more aggression in males
• Cohesion formed with build-up of trust and belief
  in one another
• Females may break down the fragile esprit de
  corps (spirit of the corps)

7
Peacekeepers

• New-era warfare uses new-era troops peacekeepers
• Women have adapted to this role nicely
• Women can handle all adjustments to field service
  in peacekeeping role
• However, peacekeeping is not direct combat

8
Gender Integration

• Can women be trained to be tougher or more
  physically capable?
• U.S. Army attempt at gender integrated training
  from 1978-1982
• Women could not be trained to male standards
• Also showed female over-emotionality in stressful
  situations

9
Dual Standards?

• Gender-integrated training reinstated in 1994
• Women now have separate standards
• New lowered standards still show female
  emotionality in stressful situations

10
New Warfare

• New-era warfare
• Women can be attacked behind front lines
• Proponents of women in combat believe that this
  should allow women to also be included in front
  line combat

11
Public Opinion

• Main setback for women in combat is public
  opinion
• Country does not welcome seeing women leave
  children and babies behind to fight wars
• Public afraid of women dying or being POWs

12
Do other Countries Use Women in Combat?

• Countries have used women in combat in past wars
• Today Israel, Canada, and several Scandinavian
  countries allow women to be in combat
• Canada is only country that uses segregated units
  of women

13
Pregnancy and Rape

• Women are traditionally caregivers
• Military cites male and female relationships and
  pregnancy as large factor in not including women
  in combat
• Unknown if enemies will respect women two female
  POWs during 1991 Gulf War were sexually abused

14
Do Women Belong in Combat?

• Physiological and psychological factors all point
  to no they should not
• Combat too great a risk for women and the military

15
The EndQuestions and Comments