Posted on 01/24/2013 10:30:29 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
The decision to open up ground combat, front-line roles to women should not be viewed in isolation from a number of significant military policy changes during President Obama’s administration. Some changes have made headlines — the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” women in combat roles, and planned troop reductions– while others, like the ever-increasing influence of international human-rights law in combat operations, have not. There is a common theme, however, and it is decidedly not one of increased combat effectiveness.
Following the collapse in morale after the Vietnam War, our nation has labored long and hard to create a lethal, courageous, and honorable all-volunteer military that is rightly the most-respected institution in the nation. Make no mistake, women have played a key role in the military’s transformation, and hundreds have bled on the battlefield to defend our liberty. We honor their service and sacrifice.
Yet honoring sacrifice does not necessarily mean acceding to demands for social justice, and the real question should not be whether opening combat roles leads to greater job opportunities for women but whether placing women in infantry companies makes those units deadlier (or at least no less deadly) and more proficient in their core role — engaging and destroying the enemy in close combat.
Cemetery Ridge in Gettysburg, Pa., Bastogne in Belgium, and the Chosin Reservoir in Korea rank among the most hellish and brutal environments ever created by man. The idea that women in the ranks could have repelled Picket’s Charge, or the XLVII Panzer Corps, or the People’s Volunteer Army’s 9th Army just as well as men is more hope than anything else...
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
This is clearly a POLITICAL decision and not a military one. This is exactly the type of decision the people of this country recently voted for ( whether they knew at the time or not). If they don’t like it, they have the chance to do something about it. At this time, I can only assume this is what the majority wants for their country. I haven’t seen anything to make me believe differently in the last several years. I happen to think the author of the attached article is correct, but saying I told you so isn’t going to make it feel any better.
What next? A replay of McNamara’s 100,000? Midgets? Transexuals? Convicted felons?
Has americas military become Obamas BITCH?....
This always happens before a Big War—cut back the Army/Navy then have to build up quick to face a real threat. I see war before Obama leaves office. It will be a cabal of foes: North Korea, China, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Sudan, and a few other states—maybe Cuba?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.