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Women to be allowed in the front line

Discussion in 'The Stump' started by Stefan, May 24, 2009.

  1. PzJgr

    PzJgr Drill Instructor

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    It is not just the physical aspect but also of the accomodations for women. Unless, at least in the US, the soldiers learn to shed their sense of privacy, special sleeping quarters, sanitation and a whole slew of things women today have. It just is not practical to make the adjustments. Are there not enough men to do the job?
     
  2. mikebatzel

    mikebatzel Dreadnaught

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    IMHO I do not feel that they should be prevented from front line combat. As long as a woman can meet the conditions of the training. I understand the argument that women are physically inferior, but if they can carry their rifle and gear, and keep up, then why not. Can a woman lift a wounded comrade from a burning tank? Maybe, maybe not. In my experience women have superior hand eye coordination and are generally a better shot with a rifle than many males. In a day and age where the front line can suddenly appear in the rear, it is proving a bit difficult to keep them out of combat anyways.
     
  3. Mussolini

    Mussolini Gaming Guru WW2|ORG Editor

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    I think that if a woman wants to be a front line combatant, she needs to pass the same physical requirements as her male counterparts, instead of the vastly reduced physical requirement. If men are held to that requirements, its because of the duties of life on the front line. Just because a woman is on the front line doesn't mean its going to be 'half' of what its like on the men.

    Not to mention all the added equipment and gear she will be wearing as a front line soldier, and the physical stress of living in the field and going out on patrol.

    I'm all for women fighting, as long as they're held to the same physical requirements of men and can hold their own.
     
    Slipdigit likes this.
  4. Stefan

    Stefan Cavalry Rupert

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    A very good point, though in my experience blokes tend not to make any major changes in behaviour just because there are girls around (my entire company still stood showering by the sides of the tanks despite the female medics standing around), I'm not sure how well it works the other way round though, I've met very few female soldiers who were comfortable living with a section of guys for any period of time. Then there is the infamous legislation regarding 'facilities,' part of the reason women cannot serve on submarines is related to the fact that they can't put in separate female ablutions etc.

    It isn't a question of needing more people though, the reason for the review is all about providing equal opportunities and gender equality.

    Well aside from the concerns mentioned above, very few women can actually keep up with the sheer weight that soldiers have to carry.

    There is a difference between allowing women to perform support roles which often escalate into combat and actually sending them to fight. The risks, the tasks involved and so on are entirely different.
     
  5. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Standards are standards. They are there for a purpose. However, I am still against female being routinely assigned to combat units. If they want to volunteer, then I could support that.
     
  6. WotNoChad?

    WotNoChad? Member

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    There's an interesting book called "Shoot the women first", which is about the ferocity of female terrorists, and takes it's title from a unaccredited claim that GSC9 have it as a standing order from their experiences of the females being deadlier. IF that's the case then we're actually losing out.

    There's always a danger of a soldier protecting an injured comrade though isn't there? It's quite a natural response, until it's swapped for better drills. I've had to explain this very point to my son recently, as he's influenced by the Hollywood factor... you know "They've got Johnny!".
     
  7. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    I'm not really sure what my opinion is on this. I realize there is some physical disparity between most men and most women, although I know a few who could easily kick my butt.

    I did find this little excerpt from the Israeli Defense Force.

    "Women in the army

    "The Army is the supreme symbol of duty, and as long as women are not equal to men in performing this duty, they have not yet obtained true equality. If the daughters of Israel are absent from the army, then the character of the Yishuv (Jewish community in Israel) will be distorted."
    David Ben Gurion



    [​IMG]
    Nowadays, women take active rolls in all parts of the IDF During the War of Independence in 1948, women were on full combat status and assumed important combat command positions. After the war, they were no longer allowed into combat positions. They continued as trainers and provided a valuable source of training manpower. From the late 1990s onwards, they are moving back into combat positions, including flight school. The first female fighter pilot graduated in 2001. Before women were re-absorbed into combat units, there used to be a womens' corps which provides professional support and backup that was created as a parallel administrative system to the command system. It was disbanded in 2001. In its place there is a female consultant to the chief of staff. "

    General Information about the IDF - Israel Defense Forces
     
  8. Sloniksp

    Sloniksp Ставка

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    I wouldnt mind sharing the barracks with these gals!!


    [​IMG]
     
  9. Stefan

    Stefan Cavalry Rupert

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    True enough, but by their very nature terrorists are very motivated individuals, they are there for one reason, to kill. The same is certainly not the case for the majority of people in the military whatever people may think.

    Again, fair enough, however I can well believe that male soldiers would be more inclined to stop to help a female soldier who was injured than a male one. I'm not suggesting this is right or the way it should be but the fact that we have had a few people on here saying they don't believe women should be doing 'that kind of thing' just goes to show how deep this mindset is.


    The thing about Israel is that even though they once had women in combat units (and it didn't work for various reasons) they now employ women in a far more limited range of roles than we do. As it said, they are currently mainly in training roles, they are not part of combat service support (field engineers including recce being a good example of 'front line' troops which include women) as they are over here. They are only just starting to get into these kind of roles now after over 50 years.
     

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