Okay well this just ruined my day. I had such high hopes that women would finally be treated as fully equal to the males. I guess not. Yet again our equality has been put on the back burner. I thought for sure with the repeal of the DADT (don't ask don't tell) the next logical step would be to allow women to enter into the combat infantry jobs.
Of course, as per usual, it all boils down to the politics. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and someone isn't squeaking a loudly as they did for the gay population as they should be for equal rights for women in the military. Yes, I know women are considered to have those equal rights already, but when we are denied certain jobs because of our gender that is far from equality.
Some of you might ask why it bothers me so much since I'm just an Army Wife? Well its because I think that all women should have equal opportunities in all areas of the military and civilian jobs. Just because our reproductive parts are on the inside doesn't mean we can't do the job. Ask a female body builder if she can lift more than the average male soldier and you might find out that she can. I get tired of hearing that our bodies aren't strong enough. If our bodies aren't strong enough then how come we can give birth vaginally to eight pound babies without anesthetic? Not to mention that labor lasts for hours. So I ask, why are they afraid of us not being able to handle the possibility of being held prisoner and tortured? Why do they think that we'll cave to our emotions? Have they never seen an enraged female protecting their loved ones?
Good grief! To you politicians out there, wise up. Women are equal to men in every aspect. We women deserve the chance to prove ourselves. Oh and don't tell me that we might be risking other lives while trying to prove ourselves in combat. Males in the infantry combat positions that have yet to prove themselves risk other lives just as much as the untested female counterparts.
Feel free to weigh-in on your opinions. I'd love to know what my readers are thinking about this post.
There should not be separate PT Standards for men and women in combat arms units.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with a woman that passes a PT test in their age group using the male scoring table. Keep in mind most Infantry units expect you to score 80 points in each event or you are doing remedial PT.
Most Infantrymen carry 120-200+ pounds in body armor, weapons, ammo, radios, and batteries. machine gunners and Anti-tank teams can carry even more with the spare barrels and extra ammo.
When I was in Special Forces I was carrying over 250 pounds around 18 miles to get to a hide site.
Same goes for Special Forces Selection. As long as the standards are kept a the same level and everyone has to meet those standards there should be no reason to keep someone out of a job.
I agree. If a woman wants the job she has to be able to meet the same standards. I believe that if women are to be treated as equals we must all put in equal effort, time, and equal risk as our male counterparts.
ReplyDelete