"Women in Direct Combat: What Is the Price for Equality" Topic

Of possible interest?

PDF link

Amicalement
Armand

The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few.

I'm still not sold on it … but what do I know ?

IIRC, the Joint Chiefs told congress, etc., that if opening up combat arms to females then both sexes should have to sign up for the draft when they reach 18. But I don't think our elected and appointed civilian leaders, and their rich backers, the "well to do" upper members of high society, etc. will let their delicate little girls/debutants, etc., be required to sign up for the draft just like the males.

And risk the possibility of mommy's or daddy's little girl(s) being sent off to a war somewhere.

Study in link is from 1992.

A bit "dated" I'd think …

Unless there has been a reevaluation of the history of Israelis, and the author, but they did have

Amusingly the author, as with others analyzing this, has ignored the Jugoslav Partisans and their experience. Of course the Jugoslavs also, in concert with the Soviets, Israelis, ad the author, that women were not suited for direct combat roles. The point being that while having a similar percentage of women in their units as the Israelis, they had a larger army and a more capable foe over a longer conflict.

The price will be that they may have terrible things done to them if captured, but that is true for anyone who is captured.

More recently, there is the YPJ and its associated women's militias in the SDF, including Syriac Christians, Yazidis, and others. Lots of women in action there, taking casualties at the same rate as men, and doing all the usual military things: indeed the CiC of Kurdish and allied forces at Kobane was a woman, and the SDF command structure ensures women are involved at all levels.

Equally, almost a million Soviet women were involved in all branches of the Red Army and Air Force during WW2, and there wasn't any real issue there either (The Unwomanly Face Of War by Svetlana Alexievich is an excellent oral history of their experiences).

The Norwegians have Hunter Commando, the CIA embedded women with Special Ops teams, and most NATO armies – certainly in Western Europe and the US – have had women involved in combat since 2001.

I don't really see why people are precious about women getting killed and maimed in combat when women have *always* been killed and maimed in war, both in and out of combat, and women (and children!) have been fighting in conflicts since we were tribal groups of early humans.

Thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand