Posted on 02/27/2006 5:39:04 AM PST by aculeus
TALL AFAR, Iraq -- Buzzing over this northern Iraqi city in her Kiowa scout helicopter, a .50-caliber machine gun and rockets at the ready, Capt. Sarah Piro has proved so skillful in combat missions to support U.S. ground troops that she's earned the nickname "Saint."
In recent months of fighting in Tall Afar, Piro, 26, of El Dorado Hills, Calif., has quietly sleuthed out targets, laid down suppressive fire for GIs in battle and chased insurgents through the narrow alleys of this medieval city -- maneuvering all the while to avoid being shot out of the sky. In one incident, she limped back to base in a bullet-riddled helicopter, ran to another aircraft and returned to the fight 10 minutes later.
"They call her 'Saint Piro' -- she's just that good," said her co-pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Todd Buckhouse, a 19-year Army veteran who has worked with Piro on two tours with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Iraq.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
^
The Post knows what happened to Larry Summers at Harvard.
The Post promotes the feminist agenda at every turn.
This is not a surprising article.
You cannot be accused of syllogistic reasoning.
The feminist agenda is actualy anorexic & antichild based more than pro women-skills.
Castro pulled this when he boasted of a cow producing record milk amounts while his whole cattle industry is in disarraty, and we pulled the same thing with the first black astronaute, to make the sheeple think there was no government regulation stopping people from entreprizing or defending themselves.
I'm waiting for the Washcompost to praise women conceal carrying 50 caliber handguns throughout the nation, then we'll see real results in freedom, not this bravosierra of once in a while success.
It seems to me that this makes a good case for "gays in the military". We need a few battalions of anthropophobic lesbians to whip the fannies of those sissies.
Amen.
And ofcourse, the men always have to state how 'well' the women are doing or they are labeled malcontents who are having their masculinity 'threatened'.
Just curious, but now that it is ok for women to be in aerial combat and subject to death, mutilation and rape if they are shot down ...
will they be expected to survive "horrendous" things like Tailhook?
"…Kiowa scout helicopter, a .50-caliber machine gun…at the ready"
I don't think an OH-58D could even hover much less take off and fly with a .50 cal on board.
Good job, Sarah. Cheers for another American hero in Iraq who is "just doing her job".
Saddly the entire culture will have to suffer to give these one or two their "rights".
ping
death mutiliation and rape are bad things. So is being publicly groped at a convention of your fellow professionals. No equivocation that if women are willing to face combat they should be willing to be the objects of molestation and harassment from anyone, much less other military members.
Yes, our culture is reverbrating in pathos because of Sarah Piro's work in Iraq.
It will be called now, "The Vagina Pit".
That's the bottom line isn't it? I agree.
Why would a man, for that matter?
Not a syllogism; three independent observations.
I fear it is now too late to turn back to the days where men did the fighting and women took care of the wounded.
It's called affirmative action.A woman who can excell in a traditionally male occupation(ex pilot)is worth her weight in gold,whereas males are simply a "dime a dozen".
So you are telling me you don't see the feminization of men and the corresponding masculation of women in our culture?
Look at the bigger picture and tell me again it isn't negative.
It should be noted that all these women helicopter pilots take the female version of the PT test so from the beginning things are not equal. For females the minumum passing mark for push ups is less than half of what the males are required to do and the males have, on average, more weight to push up, and more distance (arm length) to push it. Women also are given more time on the two-mile run even though they are delivering less weight and strength to the finnish line.
There was one woman triathilon competitor who served in the Army and got lots of publicity. The stories always pointed out that she could outrun the boys. But she refused to ever carry a rucksack saying it violated her recruiting agreement and was bad for her training. The media reports did not point out her unwillingness to ever shoulder a pack.
So do her fellow soldiers. Every recent Vet I've spoken with knows that his career ends the day he criticizes the placement of women in the military.
They have an agenda. Just as in these women-in-the-military stories you will not see the gal who got pregnant and was sent home after the government paid thousands for her training. Only the most noble and heroic women make the media.
You see the same thing in the gay parenting stories. Some drunk, absent hetero father is compared to a gay couple who could only be described as "saintly".
Women Rock! Not only are we the mothers of the earth, we can also kick a$$ when we have to.
My husband and I are raising are son and daughter. I am glad that we don't have to set any limits on what they can accomplish with hard work. I don't want my daughter to be butch, but I certainly don't want her to be a wimp that can be run over.
Gee, I wonder if that record was set against male pitchers. No? Well, at least in war the enemy will only field gentler soldiers against our women, and the ladies will only have to pull lightweight people from burning wreckage. It's nice to know that our military triumphs will come because we field the fairest army of them all.
If you feel feminized, please do not blame the Sarah Piros of this world.
Naturally, what's left unsaid:
1. There is no Iraqi air force. The MEN took care of that, so that the ladies don't have to worry about it.
2. There aren't enough MEN to fly the missions, so the women, by default (not relative skill or experience), get their chance.
3. They don't hand out Purple Hearts for broken fingernails, even if they were suffered in the cockpit.
4. As soon as one of these babes pofiled comes home ina body bag, the entire subject of female combat pilots will be "seriously debated".
Given the number
of times women shot me down,
I'd say they're well skilled!
This is sound policy, but look at the reaction:
"If all the guys hang out and play poker in one of the guy's rooms, and I'm not allowed in there, I'll never be part of that group. I'll always be on the outside," which makes it harder to cope with the pressures of deployments, she said. Implicit in the separation, Strye said, is a mistrust that grates on her as a professional. "You trust me to make combat decisions to defeat the enemy," she said, "but don't trust what I do when I go into another person's 'CHU,' " -- a containerized housing unit.
I am amazed that you cannot see damage to military culture here; a breakdown of trust.
Women should put up with "'horrendous' things like Tailhook" just as often as men do.
You don't get that Tailhook was disrespectful of women and not at all a good thing for the men, either. It wasn't about sex - it was about humiliation and hostility.
Oh believe me I am the first to criticize PC madness if they are sub standard kick them out through the armed forces predefined process. But if you DO find some that can do the job then what is the problem?
Most women are mothers and all are daughters and it's for that reason that they want to serve their country in this way (concern for family and country is a good reason to join up?). Making a killing in the private sector is a vocation, serving in the military is a calling and an honor in my own limited opinion.
Come on - remember racially segregated units?
The problem is the transition to an attitude of "us" vs. "the enemy" from one of "US men," "US women" and "the enemy." It will come.
I do agree that women should meet the same physical strength and other requirements that are required of the men.
Those nurses at the battlefield hospitals have always been in danger - they should have been trained and armed earlier than they were.
So she flies a Kiowa, eh? I am even more impressed. Those dang two-seaters ain't exactly armored like an Apache!! Been there done that! Its like being in a sub-compact car up in the sky.
As far as Army pilots go - was flown by one particular Army Captain (female-type) in a Blackhawk many times overseas a few years back. Hot chick and the smell of aviation fuel - a potent combination!
amen sister :-)
You just gotta love a chick with a finger on a Hellfire missile.....*LOL*
So your construct was three brief unrelated rants. I'll buy that.
Easy Dude. Your comments are appropriate re: infantrymen, but more off the mark when it comes to skill positions like flying a helicopter....they don't have "manual steering", so being BIG isn't an advantage - in fact it could be the opposite - having put my life in the hands of female UH-60 pilots many times, I give them all the respect that's due....
A Hearty HOO-AAHH to you, LTC!!!!!!!!!
Nice try, I wasn't talking about myself, but rather for example, the men who got Title 9'd out of college sports.
I can talk and express my opinions freely on this forum. If I was a current member of the military and could not express my opinions (as is most certainly the case), I would indeed feel feminized.
That's the old standard argument when defending the "women in combat" notion. It is also specious. Are only the top 5% of black men comparable in strength to the bottom 5% of white men? No? Then there is no basis to keep them from combat; they do not degrade the overall effectiveness and unit-cohesion of fighting units. Emotional relationships between men and women are also ignored by this poor argument.
but just what is the problem with a woman flying a helicopter gunship?
sure it could, now an oh-58 A or charlie model wouldn't be much fun.:)
No doubt you are a fan of the current crop of Hollywood movies where one svelte women kicks the crap out of twenty guys in a fight....
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