Women in Combat Roles

            By January 1 of 2016 all combat roles will be made available for women in the United States. This decision has been met with much controversy.  Many people are saying that women are not physically capable of handling such roles. In response the United States Marine Core has conducted tests with all male squads against mix gender squads. The test results showed that the all-male squads outperformed the mix gender squads in every category. Now does this mean that women should not be allowed to enlist into the Marine Core? Well, no. We cannot base everything off of one test; there are too many variables in play, one of them being experience. “…many of the male study participants had previously served in combat units, whereas female participants, by necessity, came directly from infantry schools or from non-combat jobs.” (Narula). This is a clear advantage. These test need to be as even as possible for any conclusion to be made. Luckily these tests have not changed the United States Military’s decision of letting women enlist into any combat role.

The real test should be the training. If a woman can pass through boot camp like another guy, then is there a reason not to let her serve in a combat roll? One concern is that co-ed combat squads will suffer from gender bias and stereotypes. “There is no level playing field established for men and women in terms of respect, conduct…” (Germano). This is why we should encourage women to serve in combat roles; women need a chance to earn the respect they deserve.

Other countries are already leading the way. Nations like Germany, Romania, Canada, and Demark have let females enlist into combat roles for over a decade now. Some of these women have even been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, to serve their countries on the front lines. Sweden in particular has seen great success with their female troops in Afghanistan. “Swedish military women work well with local Afghan women, the study noted, and have been able to lead units to discover makeshift bombs before they exploded and locate suicide bombers before they could strike.” (Fantz). Many of these traits would be extremely useful for ground troops that are deployed overseas.

Women can play a key role in any part of the military.  We as a society have to take that leap and let women show us what they are capable of.

                                                                                    Sources

1.      http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/20/us/women-in-combat-globally/

2.      http://qz.com/499618/the-us-marines-tested-all-male-squads-against-mixed-gender-ones-and-the-men-came-out-ahead/

3.      http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/08/20/should-women-serve-in-combat-roles/make-the-standards-for-male-and-female-marines-equal