Do you think woman should be allowed in the infantry?

1. 69

   cmlindblomposted 12 years ago

   Do you think woman should be allowed in the infantry?
   
   It has been a pretty heated topic among the grunts. It seems that infantry men them selves are not for it but everyone outside the infantry and military are. I personally am against it but im not looking to start fights I am just looking for other peoples views and reasoning why.
   
   

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2. 68

   Rufus ramblesposted 12 years ago

   It is such a hard question. As a female, and a pretty independent one at that (not at all 'girly') I used to think women should be able to serve on the front line. However I'm not sure now. I think there are lots of ways women can serve in the military that might not be actually on the 'front line' so to speak. They have equal skills in many many ways. But I think physically it is harder for a woman to carry the packs, be as 'aggressive' when needed and also be able to switch off their emotions when it comes to seeing the brutal reality of what war is. (I am the very last female to subscribe to 'women are more emotional and men are not' or to agree with people who think ALL women are one way and ALL men are another way). I know Plenty of men who would not cope at all on the front line. I also know plenty of women far more suited than some men I know! Men in the army often say the main problem is that men feel a need to 'protect' women and that would be a dangerous distraction. (as well as the sexual tension distraction element) These things can appear to the outsider as very sexist and one-sided. However, when a soldier told me about training camps he went on, when they have absolutely no privacy when doing very personal things such as having to go to the toilet (outside in the rain with diarrhea etc.), it made me realize that it would be very very hard to have men and women in that situation together. There is no way I would want men right there when I have to do those private things. And in warfare, those sorts of modest sensibilities cannot be protected!  However - I've never experienced war and am not qualified to really answer this. I hate the fact that media hysteria has taken over this debate so that people like you feel that it is hard to raise these issues. I would be interested to hear Your thoughts

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3. 69

   cmlindblomposted 12 years ago

   I like how you brought up the privacy factor. There were times that I went 4+ months without a shower and living and very close quarters with other guys I was with where litterally there were NO secrets. With this in mind I think it would be completely inappropriate to have women with males in this type of an environment. As for the strength factor yes there are some females that would out do some males. But, there are even less females that can out do the military's infantry males. That means a small number of of woman will physically be able to keep up. It's not sexist its reality. Women naturally have a higher fat percentage than males and smaller lungs which makes getting oxygen to there body while physically exerting yourself more of a challenge. Plus you have to remember a full combat load for me was about 100lbs which is a little more then half my body weight. For a woman that would be getting close to their entire body wieght. It's would just be more physically demanding on there bodies due to the less muscle mass. I can go on about it for a while because I have been looking into it alot lately and feel very strongly about the topic being a grunt myself but I'm going to let other people answer. I have yet to hear a reasonable arguement on the side of allowing them ecept we need them in todays war to search and interect with the females of the countries we are in. That is a valid point but what if tommarow we go to war with a uniformed military where the searching of females is no longer forbiden by males or just not needed in general. Then they would be a waste of time to have with us. Anyways, as of right now I'm just looking for some opinions or valid reasons for or against to further my knowledge on the topic.

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4. 60

   duffsmomposted 12 years ago

   I think that if a woman can pass the physical tests to be in the infantry, then yes, she should be allowed..I am all for equality but we have to remember men are stronger than women...and if a soldier falls, I would want someone who can carry another soldier out.  So strength has to be a factor.

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5. 0

   Old Empresarioposted 12 years ago

   Male and female soldiers in other units already have sex with one another. The infantry would be no different. Men cheated on their wives quite a bit in Iraq, if I remember correctly. Some men were territorial, while some women were as rakish as any man. We even had a female lieutenant mention how the brigade chaplain had made numerous propositions on her. It seemed a lot like high school, except without the coyness. But I don't think this ever affected performance of anyone's military duties. It never presented much of a problem as I recall. The army, always protective of itself, never liked to shed much light on it. The easy answer is that if women can do what men do physically, then they should be allowed into the infantry.

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6. 60

   smzclarkposted 12 years ago

   I think that no human should be allowed in the infantry, but for as long as men are doing it, women should be allowed too.

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