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Professor L. Manley
EN 102
18 January 2016
Can Women Make the Cut?
Women have participated in militaries around the world throughout history. They have
proven their ability to fight successfully and serve their countries with honor and distinction.
Previously women have been denied the ability to serve in combat oriented units. That does not
mean, however, that women have not seen combat in an indirect role. A considerable number of
women have seen plenty combat in the past 14 years in both Iraq and Afghanistan. They were not
in direct combat jobs, however; they were all support such as transportation, medical, supply, and
military police. Women are now being given the order to take the fight to the enemy in direct
combat situations. There are those, however, who do not support this decision and question the
appropriateness of this call. I personally feel that allowing women in combat roles is an
acceptable plan; however, serious consideration must be made to potential consequences.
The person who decided that it is finally time to let women serve in combat roles was
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Since combat roles have been open exclusively to males in the
past as a result the military community was quit stunned and unprepared for the shocking
announcement. Even though the decision was made to allow women to participate in these jobs
that does not mean they were immediately put into this jobs. The different branches in the US
military were given the opportunity to conduct test and experiments on how to properly
implement females, or if they were even capable of performing these jobs. The Pentagons
director of officer and enlisted personnel management, Juliet Beyler said, Weve really tried to
give them the time that they need to finish their studies (Tilghman). This shows that even top

officials wanted to prove that women can perform these jobs before immediately implementing
women into combat.
One significant problem continually addressed with women in combat situations is their
smaller stature. The primary question is whether they can physically adapt and be able to
successfully perform the strenuousness activities that will be required while performing the job
that is assigned to them. It is not uncommon for light infantry soldiers to have ruck sacks
weighing up to 80 pounds or more. It is not uncommon for soldiers to have to carry that amount
of weight for extremely long distances, distances that can be up to 12 or more miles. It might
also be necessary to have to move very quickly with this large load that is strapped to their back.
Therefore, strength and speed under chaotic battle conditions is one of the most complex
problems that can arise for female soldiers. This argument can be countered by the fact that there
are small male soldiers that are in direct combat roles and performing very well. This is true;
however, you also have to consider the fact that male bodies are better designed to perform
strenuous activities. Also, if there is a male and a female of the same physical stature a majority
of the time the male will be much stronger and better equipped to handle any physical stress that
may be presented to them. A strong argument has been engaged as to how the US Army
addresses this issue. The Army has implemented two standards for the physical fitness test. The
difference in standards between the male soldiers and female soldier grading system is
considerable. If female soldiers desire to participate in a combat unit there is strong opinion to
suggest that female soldiers should be held to the same standards. I believe that this is a very
simple solution to the problem of having women in combat roles. Simply, those that succeed
under the same standards qualify for combat duty. Here is a chart with the standards for the
Armys Physical Fitness test during Basic Training. As you can see there is quit a differece when

it comes to the push-ups and the two mile run. For 17-21 year olds for push-ups there is a 22
count difference and for the two mile run there is over a three minute difference. This is quit a
large gap and if women want to be in combat positions then many people believe that women
should have the same standards.
Quality is also another problem that may arise with allowing women into prestigious
units such as Seals, Green Berets, and Rangers. This has already been a problem that has been
documented regarding the female soldiers who attended Ranger school in the summer of 2015.
The Ranger school at Fort Benning is one of the most difficult training opportunities in any of
the worlds militarys. The participating female soldiers were given considerably greater
opportunities for success than their male counterparts who were going through the exact same
training. This has been the opinion of the instructors, other males competing the training, and
even the females that were going through the training. It has been substantiated that instructors
were ordered to ease off and allow female soldiers multiple opportunities to complete certain
tasks. In the Army there is a very strong Equal Opportunity (EO) policy in place to protect all
gender, race, and ethnicity to have the same opportunities to compete for the same positions. This
is where the EO policy has fault. I have seen firsthand where a unit was attempting to remove a
minority from his unit. He was grossly under qualified for the demands of the job. However,
because of the over ruling EO policy a minority soldiers was protected from removal over a

(Thul)

stronger non-minority candidate who was appropriately more qualified for the specific role. This

was because the Army's policy required a percentage of minority personnel in certain positions
regardless of whether a non-minority was better qualified for the job. The Army would assess the
situation and argue that black males are not being given ample opportunity to succeed as a
member in that unit. I just dont want to see special operation units become less effective because
the Army wants the units to be equally diverse. If it is a level playing field and standards are
upheld during the training exercises then I dont believe this will be an issue.
Another issue with having female soldiers in combat roles is having to create separate
accommodations for them. It is not uncommon for infantry units to create small bases called
forward operating bases (FOB). This means they are detached from larger bases and often under
close surveillance by the enemy. It would make it more difficult to run and operate an FOB
where vulnerable to attack when operating two separate facilities. An FOB is dangerous enough
to make proper accommodations for male soldiers let alone making another for the female
soldiers. A female reality that must be taken into account and not lightly is the soldiers menstrual
cycle. Although second nature for most women it can have its impediments. A family friend who
was deployed to Iraq related a specific incident. While participating in an extremely dangerous
mountain convoy a female soldiers driver began to experience severe menstrual cramping. Due
to this unforeseen circumstance the entire convoy was forced to stop so medical aid could be
rendered. This incident forced the convoy to unnecessarily stop in the middle of the road. This
example placed the lives of all soldiers in that convoy in danger. This is an extreme circumstance
for a women soldier, but it does show the possibilities which could prove devastating. A female
marine veteran also feels that this will be an uphill battle for women when it comes to being in
combat. The female soldier said, And until women stop menstruating, there will always be an
uphill battle for staying level and strong at all times. No one wants to talk about the fact that in

the days before a womans cycle, she loses half her strength, to say nothing of the emotional ups
and downs that affect judgment. And how would you like fighting through PMS symptoms while
clearing a town or going through a firefight? Then there are the logistics of making all the
accommodations for women in the field, from stopping the convoy to pee or because her cycle
started to strip down to get hosed off after having to go into combat with full MOP gear when
theres a biological threat (Eden). She clearly has a strong opinion that this will be a problem
that females will face if they choose to join combat units. For most women soldiers this may not
be an issue, however, the Army needs to take examples such as this into consideration when
evaluating women for combat roles.
With such a large number of women in the military it seems like it was only a matter of
time before the military became more accepting of women, especially in combat roles. Many
people do not like the idea of allowing women to join combat operations. There are also those
both in and out of the military who are very supportive of combat active women soldiers. With
over 200,000 women in the military it is my belief that there are some women soldiers who
potentially can add considerable value and can help contribute in many ways to propel our
military forward. As we become a more cerebral military women soldiers will be positioned to
contribute and participate in front line operations. Although women soldiers and our government
have received criticism and a backlash within the military forces, I believe that women have a
possibility of having a very bright future in these combat oriented jobs. It would seem that there
is no fighting this drastic change that is taking place so everyone is going to have to find ways to
adjust to this new change very quickly. Luckily the United States military is very good at making
change and should have little to no problem with managing this significant change to our

military. Only time will tell whether the decision to allow women to fight in combat jobs in the
military will have been a change for good or will have negative and possibly devastating results.

Work Cited

Eden, Jude. "The Problems of Women in Combat - From a Female Combat Vet." Western Journalism.
N.p., 26 Jan. 2013. Web. 22 Jan. 2016.
Thul, Dave. "Foreign and Domestic." : Women in Combat. N.p., 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 22 Jan. 2016.
Tilghman, Andrew. "Women in Combat Units: Final Decision Due." Military Times. N.p., 21 June
2015. Web. 12 Jan. 2016.