Women In Battle (Opinions and Questions)

Howdy, SSgt. Zea here. I believe there are many
aspects to women being in battle. One which cannot be
ignored is the physical aspects of battle. Women are
not as physically equipped for combat as men are. And
believe it or not, the menstral cycle is a bigger deal
than believed. Sure, maybe not for a weekend, but when
combat drags on for weeks, months and soldiers are
constantly on the move, supplies may not reach women
in the time frame that they are needed. So, women
could take an excess of birth control pills to hinder
their period, or could have mass hysterectomies! Ok,
now take the menstral cycle out of the picture. Here's
a question everyone could answer. If a woman was to
become captured, what would be yet another way a woman
could be tortured by men? You guessed it. Rape. Now,
I'm sure than men have been raped in the past, but
they do not stand the chance of becoming pregnant.
Rape isn't something wished upon anyone. But the
consequences of rape to a woman is much more severe
than to a man, physically, and in many cases mentally
and emotionally. Now, take rape and a woman's
menstral cycle out of the picture. You must now
concentrate on the emotional and psychological aspects
of the dicision. Permitting women to serve in front
line combat raises many questions. How will her fellow
soldiers react to her presence? Hundreds of years of
the traditional male warrior image suddenly altered.
Undoubtedly, women may not be trusted to "hold their
own" They may be thought of as "inferior" to their
male counterparts. Both conceptions which women are
still facing today, both in and outside the military.
If your fellow soldier views you as unreliable, he is
most likely going to be unwilling to fight alongside
you, knowing that in doing so, his life may be in
jeopardy. Will angry men strike out towards women
through verbal or even physical abuse? Will there be
an atmosphere of open discontempt? AGAIN, THESE ARE
NOT MY PERSONAL OPINIONS, MERELY ISSUES WHICH MAY PLAY
IN THE MINDS OF SOLDIERS. Also, will the mentalities
of soldiers in combat suffer? Soldiers already suffer
incredible traumas when viewing their fallen comrades
on the battle field. How will they react to dead
women? For many, women portral the images these men
are fighting to return to. They may think of their
mothers, lovers, wives and daughters. Viewing dead
women could be the "straw that breaks the camel's
back" It is already a life and death struggle to fight
for the chance to return to your wives, mothers and
daughters than to see the wives, mothers and daughters
of others lying among the dead, it could become
unbearable. Sure, women have proven themselves on the
battle fields before. You have only to look into
history to read about women warriors, the Amazons for
a classic example. But is allowing women to fight on
the front lines a good dicision for our country? How
will this notion be taken by the American citizens? I
firmly believe that women may, one day, in the US, be
granted to take the next step of combat duty. However,
this must take place gradually and over an extended
period of time for necessary adjustments and reasearch
into such issues which i have already addressed. Many
women have stated their wishes to be allowed to fight
and even die for their country. If this change ever
takes place, will the law make it a voluntary wish?
Meaning, will it be written so that Selected Services
can draft women not only for non combat duty, but for
combat duty as well? These are all questions which
must be addressed, and many more. There are many
questions to be raised and taken into account when
addressing such a sensitive topic. Given:
Some countries do allow women into combat. My
questions are:Are these women serving in the very
front lines? How long have those women been allowed in
this role? Has it ever been tested?(i.e. an actual
war, conflict where women faught?) I hope that I have
been clear on this issue. I hope to hear the opinions
of others on this subject.

Semper Fi!
SSgt.Ileana Zea
Capital Area YM's