WAMom68 said:Zaphod and USNA69 - I respect your right to your opinion that women should not be in the Army, as I hope you will respect my right to disagree.
Never said any such thing. I said women did not belong in the combat arms(I know this is an archaic term, but don't know what they call it now) and that WP, for survival's sake, should only support combat arms, therefore, under that caviat, women did not belong at WP.
Proactive offensive combat is a special category. Something that can only be taught at a military institution. Make that WP's mission.
Proactive offensive combat is not for females. Taking an incidential mortar round while being a nurse or an IED while in a vehicle is one thing, girding up and going out to actively seek the enemy, and not consider the mission a success unless they do, is something else entirely. Weapons, ammo, claymores, etc. causes the average soldier to be very heavily laden. Will male soldiers be even more heavily laden, impeding their ability to function or will critical munitions be left behind. Bodies get thrown around during battle. I have literally grabbed a stunned newbie by the ass and thrown him into a foxhole. Helos often cannot touch down due to terrain and hover at five feet of elevation or so. As squad leader, I was usually first to the extraction vehicle. Once, under fire, I literally threw my radio operator through the cabin of a Huey, in one door and out the other side. I want a squad who can assist their wounded shipmates, who can carry their fair share, and who can drag my ass out of the line of fire if necessary. It has nothing to do with chauvinism, sexism, or any of those other isms.
I was Lcdr. Dept Head and Detachment Officer in Charge when women first came into the fleet as aviators. If I gave you the names of those young women who worked for me, you could get extensive Google hits on at least three of them and would probably recognize the names of one or two of them. They did well. Very well. Because I supported them and helped them to achieve their full potential. I am not against women in the military.
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