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Old 01-03-2013, 05:22 PM   #9
Versus
 
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Join Date: Oct 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BourbonBoy View Post
^^^^This.

I've lost count of how many times I've been questioned about a female's role in the units I was assigned to since I was combat arms support. People who haven't served are surprised that female soldiers would be assigned a duty and they'd perform well, be it setting up a 30 m antenna to going beyond the wire in Iraq, or serving from the lowest pay grade to battalion commanders.

When given the response, "They've trained to be soldiers and to perform their assignments, just like I have," I tend to receive the "I don't get it," response. It's like they can't believe that females were also getting shot at and they could hold their own in various situations.
I think you misunderstood me. I meant that "we need to keep them safe" hasn't really been used to defend the policy in any official capacity for while, to my understanding.

I haven't had good experience with females during my time. To be fair, I haven't had good experience with most1 support soldiers. I don't think that most2 of my impressions of a female's capability to be in a combat career field are derived from them being female, but from their job training. From my experience, most3 support can't hang with combat, regardless of sex.

Now when I say most, I'm just working from my own experience and perceptions. I don't have research to back it up.

1. I've seen plenty of support guys that excel in being integrated with combat.

2. There are some qualities derived from being female, and some qualities derived from being female in our culture, which I feel aren't conducive (but not necessarily barring) to success in a combat career path. I can elaborate on this so that I can be corrected if somebody feels I'm being sexist.

3. I've seen plenty of combat guys who under-perform in their jobs, regardless of sex.

Quote:
What do you think DoD can do to correct this? Sure, they can do what they've always done, which is have classes in the afternoon for a training session but how do you think we can address the problem within the system?
To be honest? I don't think the DoD can do anything about these problems. If the military is an extreme expression of our national culture, then the problem lies within the country, not it's military. In a recent study, 1 in 4 women reported being SA during their deployment. Obviously, it's unacceptable for the military to tolerate this, however, I think the root cause is the culture that tells us that it's okay.
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