Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Women in Combat: A Bad Idea?



An article today details the high number of women who have returned from Iraq and are now suffering from various mental health problems, usually Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). According to the article, there are more women than ever witnessing direct combat. Even though they are not directly in combat, these women soldiers are often right near the fighting in Iraq.


Although I think that these women are extremely brave and I am very grateful to them for volunteering to serve for our country, I have doubts about whether allowing women to be so close to combat is a good idea. It seems that there is a much higher rate of PTSD among women who have served in a war than men. Also, according to this article, many women have also been sexually harassed while in Iraq.


Thus, is it really worth the risks involved to allow women to be so close to direct combat? In an ideal world, any women who wanted to serve in combat would be able to do so. However, in the real world there are many pratical considerations that would seem to point to the conclusion that it is a wiser decision not to allow women to serve so close to the actual fighting.


Some of the problems that arise from allowing women to be in positions close to combat are:


  1. Women are naturally not as strong as men. This is a simple fact. Thus, woman are less able to defend themselves in a combat situtation.

  2. Women seem to have more trouble dealing with the emotional effects of being in a war zone. I'm not saying this to degrade women; rather, I am simply trying to point out that women are generally not well-suited to be in a war zone.

  3. Putting women and men together in close contact in a war zone seems to cause tension and problems. Although sexual harassment is certainly not a good thing, perhaps the best solution is to just keep women out of war zones.

Just like I think we should keep women out of war zones because of the problems that can occur when women are allowed to be close to or in direct combat, I also think that we should be carefully screening male soldiers in order to weed out the ones who are at a high risk for suffering from mental health issues related to the trauma of being in combat.


Again, I am not saying any of this to in any way disparage the service of women in the military. I have the utmost respect for the women who were brave enough to fight for our country. However, I feel that the best decision for the military is to keep women out of war zones.

Image taken from http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060421/060421_soldiers_hmed_8p.hmedium.jpg

6 comments:

ptg said...

No doubt about it. Women and men are different. The great majority of them, anyhow. No amount of forced or affected egalitarianism can change that fact.

Mjolnir said...

I am undecided on this issue. I would have to admit there are plenty of servicemen and women that I've met that ceertainly had no business being in a combat zone...however I've met many women in the Army that were as tough...more often than not tougher than many men in combat arms. I think the issue is raising the standard for combat troops and making them equal. We know that women are physically different than men, but that shouldn't keep them from doing something if they can meet an equal standard.

Just my 2 cents

Anonymous said...

Our nation is going down the drain. The liberals have taken over the white house, and congress, and are going to turn it into an economic sinkhole. They will tax the rich so much that when they want to hire the middle class they will not have enough money to pay them. The liberals want to end the war immediately and cause instability to the highest degree in the Middle East. If we withdraw out of Iraq, Al Qaeda will declare victory over the United States and commit acts of terrorism. Not to mention that oil prices will sky rocket. The conservatives, on the other hand, want to stay in the war until the Iraqi government can defend itself and control Iraq.
The conservatives believe that god will help the United States immensely in every way. The liberals despise anything that has to do with god and religion. For example, if a store manager puts up a sign that says, Merry Christmas, the liberals will tell him to take it down. Let us say you want to buy a candy bar, the liberals will take your well-earned dollar and spend it on the candy bar they want you to have, and take ninety percent of the candy you have and give ten percent to nine other people. The conservatives will let you buy whichever candy bar you want.

Anonymous said...

I personally think you should keep your comments to yourself unless YOU have personally been in a combat situation. I am a female in the military, have been for over 16 years. And I am currently overseas in the combat zone as a civilian, and I am just fine. It is not a question of gender, it is a question of strength and a strong psyche. There are many men that cannot handle combat, let alone women. And yes, it is true that women are not physiologically as strong as men, they can handle a weapon just as good, if not sometimes better. War is not pleasant for anybody, but don't ever judge it based on what you hear, but judge it for yourself, by taking part in it, or listening to someone who has. And as for the liberals vs. the conservatives , I totally agree with what you are saying, but you didn't even mention women in combat! Fight the fight you can win ! So Madeline, keep your views to yourself, or come on over here and join me, and then make your decision. But I am sure that you wouldn't even dare to!

WhereisJustice? said...


It depends on what kind of women you're talking about and the kind of genes they have which determines where their potential lies weather if it's healing the injured or being active physically with VERY flexible muscles. (Which no doubt would greatly help in combat)


Older women in their middle ages are less likely to be experienced at fighting but younger women who haven't gone thru the bumps and bruises of getting old have a MUCH more decent chance at learning to deal with the stress of Post War Syndrome.

It all boils down to training.




The problem is most men know to cover up their feelings as crying during a battle will lower the moral of you're army making them less effective which will turn the tides of the war.


WhereisJustice? said...

Don't forget Anonymous that the 25 percent of the candy bar goes to the Federal Government as a tax.