Women In Combat Essay, Research Paper

A General FrameworkWhen I think about women in combat, I think about the days of the Revolutionary War, women helping their husbands to load cannons or I think about the army nurses who played vital roles overseas during the Vietnam conflict. I also think about women helicopter pilots providing air support to our soldiers and sailors during Operation Desert Storm. One year ago when I enlisted into the Army I never even considered that I would be expected to serve in an actual combat role nor did I join the army to be able to experience any combat situation other than training. However, today there are several advocates of the Equal Rights Amendment who believe that women in the military should be allowed to serve this country in combat roles.

Although I have heard numerous debates on television and read about them in newspaper articles, I have yet to hear an enlisted women verbalize her desire to serve as an ?Infantrywomen? or an ?Armored Tank Crewmember?. It seems to me that the only people fighting for more combat roles for women in the military are women who are not in the military. Women do not belong in the combat zones during military conflicts. It disrupts the overall moral and personal readiness of the unit.

A Specific FocusWith my topic, I will deal, for instance, with statistics, the physical aspects required in combat situations, sexual harassment, and many other related issues. I also plan to interview several women in my unit to see just exactly how women in the military feel about serving in combat roles.

If the United States is to remain the world’s most capable and most powerful military power; we need to have the best person in each job, unfortunately, for most combat positions the best person is going to be a male. The vast majority of enlisted women do not want to be in combat and a great many of the female officers do not want to be in combat. It’s a small minority that promote Women in Combat and the rest of us would rather not have them dictate what our future jobs will be in the military or the future of those women who may be interested in enlisting or going for a commission in the future. I did not join the army to fight wars; I joined so that the men in the army could fight wars. I like to feel that my job allows our infantrymen the ability to go to where the fighting is and to be assured that their personnel, finance, and communication concerns are being managed while they are away defending our country. I am a woman and I know that I have no business fighting side-by-side with my male counterparts.