Marines Share Frank Views with Hagel on Women in Combat

Submitted by Mastodon on Tue, 2013-07-30 12:36

Article here. Excerpt:

'CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – The 15 sergeants, lieutenants and captains at the Marine Corps infantry school sat at the conference table with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to debate changes to the American way of war – in particular, the Pentagon’s new decision to integrate women into front-line combat positions.

One first sergeant objected strongly, saying that if women could add anything of value to combat infantry units, they would have been handed those missions long ago.

One staff sergeant worried that the Marine Corps’ high standards would have to be lowered if women were assigned to combat. Other Marines in the group agreed, warning that women would not be accepted by their male counterparts living in spartan wartime conditions, or that family lives would suffer, especially for those female Marines hoping to have children.

One lieutenant, however, disagreed with anyone who argued that now is not the right time to start bringing women into combat roles, and several noted that the American armed forces often had led the rest of society, for example, in integrating minorities.

All 15 were forthright, even bold, in expressing their views on a contentious issue with the secretary of defense.

And all 15 of the Marines were women.'

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As I've said before, it's all abt promotion opportunities. The final result of all this back-and-forthing will be this: "combat zone" will be re-defined. While not really wanting to assume the same risks men sent into combat do (voluntarily or not), they still want the same respect, rewards, and opportunities men who have been in combat get. They want that pretty spaghetti on their chests that the guys who've been shot at have, a bit like how girls in high school want to wear their boyfriends' football jerseys. Just like such girls, they want the social status it implies but don't actually want to go take the knocks on the gridiron. To me, the responses of all but one of the female Marines in the article tell it all: now that it looks like it just might happen, they're suddenly against it-- at least as it's laid out now. I imagine a football jersey-wearing high school girl'd have the same reaction if the coach actually walked up to her and said "Hey, want to wear that for real? Why not try out for the team?" Suddenly, the enthusiasm wanes.

So along with "combat zone" being re-defined for certain contexts, new official roles ("MOSes") will also be created, along with new rewards associated with them. I also imagine the amount of time in the newly-defined "combat zones" will be reduced in order for female Marines, et al., to be allowed to spend less time away from showers and air conditioning as others (ie, men) in more "traditional" combat zone roles. Oh yeah, it'll still be volunteer-only. Females won't be required to go into any kind of combat zone like males are. For males, it'll still be abt obligations and duties while for females, it'll remain abt rights and options.

So after spending X amt. of time in the new "combat zone", it'll be back to apply for the next promo. Ticket punched! And will she have watched her friend get blown up? Will she have lost a leg or suffered a TBI? Maybe. Maybe indeed she will have. But at least in her case, she will have had every opportunity *not* to have been there. Her male comrades, not so much.

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Submitted by Matt on Wed, 2013-07-31 00:42