Women in Combat Could Blunt 'Tip of the Spear'

By Lee Webb and Tracy Winborn CBN News Anchor and Producer Monday, February 25, 2013

As the Pentagon pushes forward with plans to fully integrate women in military combat units, many are considering the move a victory for equal rights.

Still, others argue it will hurt our nation's ability to fight and win the next war.

Women currently make up 14 percent of our military. They've served across the board except in infantry, armor, and special operations units, like the Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and Green Berets.

"Everyone, men and women alike, everyone is committed to doing the job," outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said in announcing the policy change. "They're fighting and they're dying together and the time has come for our policies to recognize that reality."

"With this momentous shift, America once again reaffirms its core values of equality and respect, values predicated upon a person's capabilities and demonstrated competence, not an immutable characteristic like gender," she wrote. "This is good for our military, and our country, too."

Ret. Gen. Jerry Boykin couldn't disagree more. A former commander of Special Operations, he is also one of the founding members of the Army's famed Delta Force.

Boykin acknowledges that women have served bravely under fire. But those situations have largely been in support roles, not offensive operations. They have not served in units trained and equipped to pursue, engage, and destroy a hostile force.

"A female that can run a marathon does not necessarily translate into a female who can drag a man, let's just say an average man of 175 pounds, with all of his combat gear," he said. "It is not the average female that will be able to do that. So it's a readiness issue and no one is considering readiness."

The Army's physical fitness standards are currently different for men and women. For example, a 22-year-old male soldier is required to do at least 40 pushups. A 22-year-old female soldier is required to do only 17.

The Pentagon now says that women serving in direct combat units will have to meet the same standards as men.

But Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey offered one big caveat.

"If we do decide a particular standard is so high that a woman couldn't make it, the burden is now on the service to come back and explain to the Secretary, why is it that high?" he said. "Does it really have to be that high? With the direct combat exclusion in place, we never had to have that conversation."

"I don't know if that bothers you the way it does me, but that's frightening," Boykin said in response. "And what that really is saying is if women can't meet the standards, we will lower those standards."

Boykin said he believes that will have life and death consequences. A soldier needs to know the soldier next to him will get him off the battlefield if he's wounded.

"That's why we give medals of honor. And if you look at who gets a Medal of Honor, it's normally because he was trying to save a buddy," he said.

The HBO series "Band of Brothers" depicts the rigors and horror of close quarters combat in WWII. Seventy years later it hasn't changed.

The series highlights the one aspect of warfare that another retired general believes the Pentagon is ignoring in allowing women on the front lines.

"One of the things that neither I nor anyone else in the military really understands is the so-called 'band of brothers' effect," Ret. Maj. Gen. Robert Scales said. "It's the buddy-teaming which makes up the essence of cohesion in small units."

"Remember, the American soldier doesn't really die for his country, and he doesn't die for the mission. He dies for his buddies," he said.

Those small units are better known as squads made up of anywhere between nine and 13 soldiers or Marines. They're the "tip of the spear" on the battlefied.

Scales said he believes the Pentagon owes it to them to perform an objective study on the effects of lifting the ban.

"Units that are thrown together or who have bad psychology or that are poorly led, tend to die in hugely disproportionate numbers," Scales explained. "So increasingly the weight of these wars is falling on the shoulders of this very, very small band of brothers and before we break it up and re-assemble it, we better be darn well sure that we're doing the right thing."

Not all women agree with the plan either. One former army captain and West Point graduate, who asked CBN News to protect her identity, is an airborne-qualified combat engineer who served tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.

She said at one time she wanted to serve in a front-line unit. But she changed her mind because of the wear and tear her body took during five years of active duty.

"I guess I was naive to think I would be invincible forever, but right now I have two small children and my quality of life has degraded because you can only hold them for so long because your back hurts and you need to put them down," she said. "You know, it changes the way I'm able to live."

So what does it say about nation that allows its women to do its fighting for it?

"Right now Congress is working on legislation to protect women from violence and domestic violence and then on the other hand we're turning around and saying to women, 'Fix bayonets, and charge that group of men over there, most of which are stronger than you, bigger than you and capable of killing you,'" Boykin said.

"It is inconsistent with our ethos," he added. "I think the Bible is very clear that we're the stronger sex and we have a moral obligation to protect our women."

We are setting ourselves up for disaster in future wars. The fact we have morons like Dempsey (who should know better) approving of this nonsense is even more scary. They are selling their military birthright and effectiveness out for a pottage of tasty lentils.

Our military has become just another social experiment to "equalize" the sexes. When the real rubber finally meets the hard road, it will fail. But that's what happens when we put Liberals in power; we get failure all the way up and down the line.

We may be kidding ourselves, but we are not kidding our enemies. They are no doubt laughing and licking their chops right now in anticipation of our full implementation of such insane policies. They can smell victory and our looming disaster and must get excited at the thoughts of our gutting our softened, feminized military - even as our government overlords perfume their hankies and demurely waft them over their tender noses to help disguise the oncoming stench of our own death and destruction.

Is it worth this just so a few ambitious females can get on career tracks to the stars? Is it?

Infantry Combat OPS and a six mile run are not the damn same.

For those who have humped the bush through thick bamboo and wait a minute vines,the nam’s(mountains), the swamps in waist deep swamp water with 40 mags of 18 rounds each, some 8 or so grenades from smoke to concussion, to WP, and; we’ve had our ruck loaded down with an extra battery for a PRC 25 plus a 60 mm mortar round, and; add 100 plus M60 7.72 mm rounds dangled around our necks, while carrying some 60-70 plus pounds in our ruck plus extra on our web gear,while walking and sweating all day, then freezing at night, no chance for a bath/shower nor did we want a damn bath/shower as we damn sure did not want the enemy to smell soap or anything.Please Think. We took a pill before every OP that would constipate a horse for 4-5 days, and; we had to take a brown bomber when we came back to even defocate. No one has time to drop his drawers for a crap on a combat OP.It is risky as hell to have to find water as the enemy will be where water is. So drink it out of bomb craters filled with rain. Now, imagine your men getting wounded in waist deep swamp water and you as a LT or CPT are up front next to one who cannot walk due to a leg wound or both. How are you going to carry him and his equipment out of that swamp? What about those leeches that we used to get on our legs, arms and occasional in a private area? Do women want a leeches on them? I do not want my wife nor any woman to go through what I did. I do not want to see 18 women blown to pieces like I did men, nor do I want to see 30 plus wounded or their body parts laying exposed on the ground. I do not want to see any females guts hanging out, nor any private parts blown off. I really do not want to have to take a woman’s fatigue/jungle pants off to try to stop a femoral artery from pumping.

I wish folks would listen to Gen Brady who commanded a medical unit in RVN. He received the CMH, but; he can tell you how woman effected HIS medical BN’s readiness. Medical Evac BN’s are not INFANTRY. They are very damn important. Please google him.

My words were brief to make same statement relating to standards and ability that related what you said ..... In one sentence versus the detail you posted .

Sorry if you did not understand my analogy.

If male or female cant meet the standards and keep up and endure they have no business in combat arms or in direct support of such.

Concur with all you’ve said ...... Been there done that and do not want male or female there that can’t do it or tries to administratively bypass standards due sex or ability.

Then and only then would I mention the facts you did as to horrific injuries, personal opinions and such because I already know the results of mixed sex units. The complications associated as experienced and implied.

Good informative post..... Thanks for your service

I’m retired EOD (72-96)..., agree with all you said.

Stay safe...

This entire effort led by Obama, Leon Panetta and General Dempsey comes from clowns who have never been in the military, and; Dempsey does not even have a frigging CIB. Yes, the nation has had non Infantry Generals as Chief of Staff of the Army before, but; until the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this nation had generals in ever previous war who had been platoon leaders and/or company commanders in Infantry units in every other war from WWII through Vietnam.

I served with many of those older Korean War NCO’s in SF who were the the one’s who started SOG recon. Hell, in 66 I had mostly LTC’s and above who had served in WWII. By the 1970 timeframe we had a few WP types make LTC who had not served in the Korean War, yet; they had two tours in RVN and /or were on their second. What I am saying is you cannot throw fags and women on the Infantry. I do not know a man with a CIB who would want either in his unit in combat. A man who entered the Army in 72 never saw combat in RVN. Hell, we had men in SF who were at Bragg in summer 1969 who never saw Vietnam.

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