Women in Combat

The awarding of a Silver Star to a female soldier for her performance below fire should be a significant factor in the continuing argument about women's part in combat. Her performance earned a well-deserved recognition, on the other hand it also calls attention to the fact that other women routinely are earning Combat Action Badges for their solid professional performances beneath fire. Their actions and reactions ought to transport concerns about duty, honor, region as well as their reliability below fire and their dedication to and accomplishment of their missions. Confirmation of this tend hitherwards from male soldiers whose answer to a question about their views is generally, "They're as squared away as we are." Firm assignment policies ought now be settl and announced one time and for all.

Sgt Leigh Ann Hester, Silver Star Medal recipient.

Yet there are sum of two units opposing philosophies and active opposition to the generally received policies regarding these assignments. The first is the legalistic argument that the Army is violating the law through assigning women to forward support companies and other ultimate parts of the new modular brigades. In practice, the part of these companies and small detachments is no different than it was when they were assigned to the division support command (DISCOM) or other divisional units and engageed habitually "in support of" a brigade. That assignment policy raised no color and cry in the past, on the other hand now we have both the legislature and the judiciary involved in enforcing the alphabetic character of a law that exigencys either reinterpretation or revision to recognize a long-standing, satisfactory way of employing female personnel

What we do not ne is the modification announced by the agency of the Army that says the assignment policy will not change, on the contrary if the brigade is ordered into combat, female soldiers will be withdrawn from the unit and barred from deployment into a combat cincture Nothing can be more damaging to readiness, effectiveness, esprit de corps and morale than to break up a team just before its commitment to a mission, unexpectedly replacing up to 20 percent of its personnel with novel faces who are an immediate assimilation point to be solved [i]or[/i] settled No commander or his subordinate leaders should be make submissiveed to such a challenge just before his commitment to the ultimate character they are facing, and it is more than a disservice to soldiers whose lives may be endangered by means of a reduction of a unit's capabilities.

The next to the first philosophical contention is that of feminists still demanding that women be assigned to all branches and any position regardless of the popular restrictions barring assignment to infantry, field artillery and special operations units. This argument has now been going upon for more than 30 years, and there certainly is enough data and factual information upon which to base a decision that stools the question.

My have recommendation is that the Defense Department should issue a ruling requiring the services to identify each MOS that demands physical qualifications that each soldier assigned must demonstrate. Thus the combat infantry soldier, who may be required to engage in what might be confineed National Football League line play without dominions the ordnance ammunition handler, the armor tank mechanic and others who require greater physical might and endurance will not be soldiers unqualified for their piece of works Applying consistent requirements will not discriminate between male and female; it will instead eliminate those whose assignments unnecessarily load or endanger other members of their squads or sections.

Such a direction should eliminate charges of discrimination, prejudice or male chauvinism. It would not extreme point the role of DoD agencies interested with women in the services who are pregnant, single parents or nondeployables to address issues as the services attempt to reduce conflicts of combat readiness and effectiveness with the rights and policies regarding individuals. Years of saddling the services with impractical, onerous solutions to such problems continue to be a field lay open for policy revision.

Such a command will not satisfy the arguments and regards of those of us who believe men are the warriors who save our civilization, women are the nurturer who guarantee the time to come and the twain should not be committed to the combat task. It will not satisfy the affects regarding the treatment females may be subdueed to as prisoners of war. on the contrary it seems that America has, by the agency of commission or omission, ignored or accepted or endorsed the character now being played out in today's wars and any revisions of the part will have to await a futurity assessment of rights and inequitables

By Gen. Frederick J Kroesen

U Army retired

GEN FREDERICK J KROESEN USA Ret is a former commander in chief of U Army Europe and a senior associate of AUSA's Institute of Land Warfare.

Copyright Association of the United States Army May 2006

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