why are women in military not as appreciated as the men by some people?
Record Number of Injuries, Fatalities
According to U.S. military records, 33 female soldiers–three in Afghanistan and 30 in Iraq–have been killed since operations started in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.
In addition, 240 women have sustained combat-related wounds in Iraq and Afghanistan. Left with permanent injuries that have sometimes required amputation, most of these women–like those killed–were struck by bombs that hit transport units or camps with no warning.
"We don’t track the number of women soldiers wounded by U.S. forces in friendly fire," said Army spokesperson Lt. Colonel Bryan Hilferty. "But these accidents don’t happen often."
The death and injury toll for female soldiers in the current conflicts shatters previous records for women serving in positions that are also shared by men. In the Gulf War–the first major conflict where women soldiers served alongside male soldiers–216,000 women were enlisted and 16 were killed. In Iraq and Afghanistan, only 17,000 female soldiers are enlisted. But their deaths account for 33 of the 1,000 estimated fatalities among servicewomen in U.S. history. To date, nearly all of these fatalities have been among female nurses and support staff.
"Having this many female casualties in uniform is certainly new," said Michael O’Hanlon, a military analyst for The Brookings Institution in Washington. "It has made this policy debate more visible and more visceral."
Women More Active in Military
Historians estimate that only 20,000 American women have fought in battle since Margaret Corbin hoisted her petticoats and took charge of a canon after her husband fell in the Revolutionary War.
Since the creation of the Army Nurse Corps in 1901, women have been employed directly by the military. But until recent decades, most have served as nurses and support staff. That started to change in the Korean War during the early 1950s, when the military began accepting women for active duty.
In 1992 the Air Force began allowing female pilots to fly in some combat missions. In 1993 the Navy started allowing women to serve on combat ships. In 1994 the Army dropped a rule prohibiting women from filling positions with a "substantial risk of capture." These changes opened up 90 percent of military jobs to women for the first time.
"From this point onward, women were not only trained to use arms, but could also fire them on the job," said retired Air Force Capt. Barbara Wilson, founder of Military Women Veterans in St. Augustine, Fla.
Today, female soldiers take infantry training alongside their male companions, learning how to fire assault weapons and move under direct and indirect fire. Accounting for 15 percent of all service people and 10 percent of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, women work as engineers, truck drivers, pilots and weapons experts.
Two prohibitions hold female troops back from full parity. They are barred from positions that involve direct combat (such as serving on submarines, in the Special Forces and in infantry, armor and artillery positions). They are also barred from "collocated units" that support combat troops. A woman can serve as a medic, for instance, but not as a medic in a unit that "collocates" or supports a unit on the front line.
Sounds to me like they pay just as important of a role over there and deserve recognition by the public…… Some of them too have paid the ultimate sacrifice in combat….. THANK YOU WOMEN IN THE ARMED SERVICES!!!
But they point out men much more often in everything and at times forget bout the women, not exactly right…..
I appreciate THESE women in the military — THEY’RE SMOKIN HOT (even if they are jew).
not many woman severed in the wars of the past due to their weak bodies
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They don’t track the number of women or men soldiers killed by enemy fire. They track the number of soldiers killed regardless of gender.
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Soldiers are soldiers, regardless of gender. We don’t go running around asking for softness and an easier route.
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Because—
SHE should be at HOME waiting for you and your congressional medal of Honour so she can GO SHOPPING for all the STUFF that she HAD but was NOT allowed to USE?
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I appreciate THESE women in the military — THEY’RE SMOKIN HOT (even if they are jew).
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http://damncoolpics.blogspot.com/2008/03/girls-of-israeli-army.html
http://www.serialno3817131.com/thumb.html
I don’t understand how 33 out of 4,881 (to date) is very significant at all. That would mean that women represent .007% of the total amount of US deaths in Iraq and Afganistan. As far as granting parity for women to be allowed in combat arms units such as Infantry, Cav, SF, and others, thats simply not a practical idea. IT has absolutely nothing to do with women not being strong enough, tough enough, or in any other ways capable of doing the job (which I’m sure many of them out there can). It has to do with human instinct, emotion, and dynamics. The army already has a HUGE issue with sexual harrassment, EO, and other issues affecting unit readiness and team cohesion with units, especially combat arms units, that have women integrated into them. Though many women are fully capable of these jobs, its just not worth the S*** storm that comes when you integrate a few women into a company or platoon full of dudes. Its human nature.
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Experience
That is a good, nay, great question.
I think the reason is, perhaps, "out of sight out of mind". If women aren’t honored often, then the public is less likely to debate their role in the service. And as well ALL know, the Government hates controversy & debating more than anything.
There ARE roles in combat where women are uniquely suited. It has been said women are better at multitasking, which is one reason they excel at aerial combat. They do very well at sniping. Since they are usually smaller, they can function better in confined spaces like Tanks & APCs/IFVs. And finally, they are uniquely skilled at assassination.
It is significant that Japanese Ninja had many female members for such purposes. In WW 2 the Soviets killed hundreds of German & other Axis officers w/ female NKVD & GRU assassins. And the Cold War Spetznaz had large numbers of female members to operate behind enemy lines.
I apologize if I sound sexist, I was only mentioning areas where they were exceptionally useful in a war. And isn’t winning the war all that matters?
Of course the reason most people are uncomfortable discussing women in combat is because of a unique risk involved in their being captured. And considering the types of enemy we frequently encounter, this risk is magnified.
And finally, I read something by the renowned historian Liddell Hart. He had interviewed a German commander who led the charge in the Battle of the Bulge. The following is exactly what was said: "at this vital moment he dallied with a young American nurse, ‘blonde and beautiful’, who held him spellbound in a village his troops had overrun." B.H. Liddell Hart, History of the Second World War, Chapter 35, bottom of page 651.
Was that nurse ever given a medal? She stopped a division single-handedly.
RE: GOP 2.0 thanks for the links. That is why we are fighting in the Middle East! For their sake! ^_^
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1st of all thanks for all the support. But I think you will find that most women dont do it for the recognition. They simply just do the job that needs to be done. I think that part of the reason that you dont hear about women as much is that America as a whole is just not ready to hear about their " Mothers and Daughters" in harms way. I mean lets face it "War" is a boys game and its still hard for them to play with women. You’re also right its not fair but life often isn’t.
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Female Marine