Wars force US military to review ban on women in combat

[cory777]

Source: AFP

by Dan De Luce Dan De Luce – Sun Feb 28, 6:47 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US commanders are taking a second look at policies that bar women from ground combat, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have thrust female soldiers into the thick of the fight.

The Army chief of staff, General George Casey, told lawmakers last week that it was time to review the rules in light of how women have served in the two wars.

His comments came as the military unveiled plans to lift the ban on women serving in submarines, an all-male bastion that navy officers once insisted could never change.

Despite a policy designed to keep women away from units engaged in ground combat, the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have placed women in battle with insurgents who do not operate along defined front lines.

As a result, women have earned medals for valor and praise for their mettle.

"My best combat interrogator was a woman soldier, my best tank mechanic was a woman soldier," John Nagl, a retired lieutenant colonel who served in Iraq, told AFP.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/usmilitarywomenafghanistaniraq

[Captain Hilts]

1. No. Absence of draft is forcing their hand. nt

[Rozlee]

6. That and fighting two wars simultaneously will make the brass really reconsider

sending Daddy's little girls out there. It's a crock. In Iraq, there is no front line. Urban fighting is the dirtiest there is. My daughter's friend was telling me about how she went to get a Coke from the fridge in a common room in a barracks in forward. A co-ed women's barrack, she said, with the women on one side. Two minutes after she walked away with her Coke, a mortar blasted the refrigerator she'd been in front of. I've seen injured young women at BAMC when my husband has appointments there. How did they get lose their legs? Extreme yoga?

[Captain Hilts]

8. Yes. Very true. nt

[Forkboy]

2. Women die as easily as men. Sign 'em up!

Rah rah rah!

[DRoseDARs]

3. But no icky gay ones. We still need more time to consider the possibility of reviewing the options..

...of weighing the pros and cons of maybe looking at stalling for more time to consider the possibility of reviewing the options of weighing the pros and cons of maybe stalling for more time to consider the possibility of reviewing the options of weighing the pros and cons of maybe stalling for more time to consider the possibility of reviewing the options of weighing the pros and cons of maybe stalling for more time to consider the possibility of reviewing the options of weighing the pros and cons of maybe stalling for more time to consider the possibility of reviewing the options of weighing the pros and cons of maybe stalling for more time to consider the possibility of reviewing the options of weighing the pros and cons of maybe stalling for more time to consider the possibility of reviewing the options of weighing the pros and cons of maybe stalling for more time...

[lbrtbell]

7. You JUST beat me to it

There's only one reason the military is against gays: They're afraid that gays will view them as mere sex objects, the way these homophobes view women. Don't worry your pretty little heads, you homophobic little boys, the big bad gays aren't going to rape you like you rape the female troops. :mad:

[Chicago dyke]

10. i'm a gay vet

and given these wars and the likelihood of more for similarly stupid reasons, i'm not telling any gay young people i know to sign up. not right now.

the MIC is an out of control mess. smart people will stay out of it. dying for Halliburton is stupid, regardless of race, gender or orientation.

[OnlinePoker]

4. When there's no front lines...

...it's pretty hard to keep women behind them unless they are back in the States.

[provis99]

5. remember what Gingrich said about women in combat?

something along the lines that their menstrual cycle makes them unfit for sharing foxholes with men. And now Gingrich is considered a RINO by the freeper types...

[RKP5637]

9. I wouldn't be surprised to see the draft back eventually, especially if we start a few more wars. nt

[pasto76]

11. one of the first soldiers to recieve a Combat Action Badge was a female

my female troops did not go into time out when we engaged. Some fought better than some of my male troops.

SGT PASTO

[scottsoperson]

12. israel has women in their army

they also have gays. so do the brits. so do we but not openly.

[Chef Eric]

13. The sky is blue. There, see? I can state obvious facts too.

By the way, the original post is about combat roles.

[DRoseDARs]

15. Any particular reason for your unnecessary rudeness?

:shrug:

[Robb]

16. Many are suspicious

...of anyone who racks up more than a hundred short, often repetitive post that add nothing to the discussion in less than a day.

Not me, of course.

[Ian David]

14. This is good. Because only a woman will remember everyone who shot at them for years. n/t