I remember once seeing the mortality rates for those training to be fighter pilots. I'm in no way qualified to comment on a pilot's skills of ability, but no doubt you are correct that PC played a large part in her career, just as it did with first female Navy carrier pilot, who, after her death while attempting a landing, it was revealed that she should have been grounded..and indeed, had she been a male, would have been.
However, on a broader scale, , IMHO,the issue is muddied. Many are attempting to differentiate between women in the military, and women in combat. As warfare, and wars, have changed, you can't differentiate between the two. IIRC, during Desert Storm, the single gratest incident of loss of life occured when a SCUD landed on a US base, well behind the front lines, and I believe the majority of those killed were female.
“As warfare, and wars, have changed, you can’t differentiate between the two.”
But you can. The issue is not will women die during combat ops. They will. My oldest daughter was in the Marines, and had shells hit near her while working on planes.
But front-line duty like infantry is a whole different ball game! My ex-Marine daughter, married to ex-Marine Infantry, believes it is insanity to put women into infantry roles. When you live in the dirt for 60 days at a time, and have to fight hand-to-hand at times...that is no place for 99.9% of women.
If they had strict strength requirements, I might think otherwise. But they would cheerfully have put my 5’2”, 120 lb daughter on the front lines IF Congress said to put women into front line combat. She lifted weights daily, but she would tell you there was no way she was strong enough to handle Infantry duty.
And my son-in-law, after two tours, lost an inch in height and now has damage to his knees, shoulders, back and brain.
I was a WSO/EWO. But flight duty is not, in any way, comparable to being an infantry grunt.
“Prior to joining the family business, Jesse [Kelly] served in the United States Marine Corps. During his four years in the military, he led a squad in the Mortar Section of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines and participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom.”
THAT is more relevant military experience that McSally had. In 2010, Jesse lost by about 1/2 of 1%. The other guy running is Frank Antenori.
“Antenori was born and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania and joined the Army after graduating high school in 1984. In 1987, Frank volunteered for Special Forces, commonly known as the “Green Berets.” While in Special Forces, Frank was involved in several operations of historical significance some of which notably include Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan...
In Iraq: recommended for the Silver Star and received a Bronze Star for Valor for personally destroying two armored vehicles and their crews with anti-tank missiles, another light skinned vehicle with his machine gun and disabled another with shot from his .50 caliber sniper rifle. His book “Roughneck Nine-One: The extraordinary Story of a Special Forces A-Team at War,” recounts this successful violent battle against a vastly superior force at Debecka, Iraq.”
Again, I think his experience dwarfs what McSally did.