Women in Infantry free essay sample

Today, one of the biggest debates over womens rights is the one over females being in the infantry. The world is changing and with that comes a lot more responsibility for policy makers, and there is a great debate over women being on the front lines. Women have been in the Military for quite some time, but not in a front line type of role. I can see both sides of the argument; the one that wants people to broaden their views and accept women in the infantry, and the other side that sees at as more ofa male type of position. There are many pros and cons to the Military allowing women in combat positions, and I believe that while women should be allowed to have a chance in the infantry, the standards need to be the same whether it is a male or female. When the Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta removed the barriers of women being in the infantry it opened up 237,000 Jobs to women. We will write a custom essay sample on Women in Infantry or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Around 53,000 positions are closed to women by units, such as Brigade Combat Teams in the Army. Panetta said that if members of the military meet the qualifications for the Job- not reduced ualifications- then they should have the right to serve. The same argument can be made for having gays in the military. I dont believe that they should be excluded, but I do believe they should have to keep their personal life to themselves. I agree with Panettas statement saying that if they are qualified then women should be able to serve. And the Secretary of Defense also stated that if women were allowed in the infantry, it would gain them respect with the men who already serve. When people argue that women cant carry 80 pounds of gear, fly fghter Jets because they cant andle the g-force, or fght on the front lines with men, I think those people to be uneducated. There are plenty of men who try and Join the military who cant carry the gear, cant handle g-force, or are too squeamish to fght on the front lines. So if there are women who can make it through all the training then they should be able to serve. I believe that in some cases having a woman on the front lines or flying a plane has better a better advantage then a man does. Women tend to be smaller, giving the enemy less of a target to hit, and if they are flying planes, women are more likely to fit n the cockpit. Women also analyze things more radically then men do. Most men when on the front lines are pumped full of adrenaline and lose focus on analyzing their surroundings, and could have a better chance of getting themselves or a squad member killed. Women are usually much more calm then a man in a stressful situation, and may be able to keep her head straight and get her squad out of a fire fght and save lives. That to me is a big advantage of women being in the infantry. Also, women are more generous and thoughtful then most men. So if a man is having roblems or needs to vent to someone, it is a lot easier to vent to a woman then to a man. If a male soldier tried to vent to another male, then he may be deemed as soft and not fit for combat. On the other hand if a male soldier vents to a female soldier it is more likely the temale soldier will talk witn the man, and help him through his problems. And if men could vent to female soldiers comfortably then it would serve a greater good to the whole squad because no one would have to many emotions bottled up, which is extremely dangerous during war. On the other hand there are also a lot of problems with women being allowed in the infantry. Yes they can be very helpful on and off the battlefield, but what happens when it is a womans time of the month and her emotions are all out of whack? That would be very dangerous to the rest of the soldiers she is with. And since her emotions are everywhere, she would not be able to think straight and process situations on the battlefield the way she would need to. She would be doing more damage than good if she was allowed to be on the front lines during that time of the onth. Also with having women in combat sexual tension may arise. And women sometimes use their gender to get what they want from the male population. This might mean that a woman is not doing anything but is earning more merits because she may use her gender to attract the male population responsible for it. Another unfortunate downside with women being among all the men is rape. Its sadly a great possibility that with women in the infantry the chance for rape is extremely high. Seeing as men are out In the middle of nowhere surrounded by a bunch of other en, and all the sudden there squad begins to add women, and in the camp when no action is going on a man who has been stressed because of the war and all of the other things going on he could Just rape one of the female soldiers. And because the men outnumber the women, there really isnt much the women could do to fght back. There is also a greater risk that if a woman gets captured by the enemy, she would not have the mental strength to not tell the enemy the plans of her platoon, the whereabouts of their camp, and many other important locations and strategies that should be kept a secret. And one of the greatest downfalls of women being in the infantry would be plain physical strength. It isnt very often that a woman is flat out stronger than a man physically, and that plays a huge role in the infantry. You have to carry heavy gear and weaponry all day, and it is possible that it Just may be too much for a woman to handle. There is also a problem with military efficiency. While having women in combat that would be certified and pass all of the training is small, the monetary, and disciplinary costs do make the move worthwhile. It costs money to have people go nto basic training for the military, and if a great number of women try and Join, more than likely only a small number would succeed, so it makes it almost a waste of time to train them for nothing when the money and effort could have been placed somewhere else. Throughout history the military has been a male dominant environment. That means that there is a very important tradition to those who have served and are planning to enlist and maintain traditional gender roles. In some situations, men may act foolishly to protect the women in their combat units, and end up getting hemselves and that woman killed. There is an argument that if women are in combat positions then they will gain respect from the male population, but the presence of women in a masculine culture would likely become a major problem, like argument s and harassment. Men communicate and act much different around other men then they do women, and that tradition being intringed upon would cause problems within that unit. In my personal opinion I believe women should be allowed into the military, but only to an extent, and only be allowed on the front lines if qualified Just like a male has to be. The whole argument about equality can go both ways. I see that if women try to be in the infantry they are going to get there way by any means necessary, and that would hinder our military greatly. To have a woman in a position she is not qualified for is extremely dangerous. She could get tens of men killed, and she and the person who appointed her would know that someone else should have gotten that Job because they were more qualified. So I believe that women can be in the Military, but there should be some restrictions on what they can do Just to protect the ones that protect us.