Introduction
With the changing role of women, there has been the call to have women in combat. There are those of the view that this called for as it will serve to balance the rights that women have and also there those who argue that this will weaken the military given the strength of women in ,military and those of men. Military power is the people’s perception of capability and the ability to tap that capability to be used for defense. Military capability is the ability of the people in the military to destroy and make neutralize the weapons that the enemy might come with during war or provocatively. One factor that determines the capability that a military team has is the equipment that they have. Another determining factor is the capability of the personnel in the military. This is what the paper is concerned. The capability of the military officers and personnel is in such a way that it will determine the outcome of the performance. Their capability will depend on their capability of their knowledge, knowing what to do and how to do, and having the motivation and inspiration to undertake their calling. One factor that is important is cohesion of a unit. The working of military personnel is in groups and the support of the groups and undertaking the objectives that is required of each group. The success of a given group is determined by the teamwork that is portrayed by each group. This paper will focus on the advantages and disadvantage of having women in combat.
One advantage of having of having women in combat is the fact that they will help in achieving other duties which are not necessary reserved for men. These duties include providing medications and nursing to injured military officers, flying the choppers that are used in war, driving the various battalions, and preparing meals and other important stuff for the military officers. These roles have been initially carried out by men in the military. These men can be of great help in the battalions and in the fight of the enemy. This is a role that women can work on perfectly and in the end the team in the battlefield will be strengthened. This is another way of strengthening the men in the field as all men will not be in the field fighting.
Another advantage with women in the military is that women will be able to learn skills that are considered to be lucrative while they are in the military. These skills include mechanical engineering, medical knowledge, logistics, flight and administrative roles. These are skills which are hard to come by while one is in the civilian world. This is a chance for women to get to know how to help the men in combat in these roles. With this, men who have been initially working in these careers will now work in the field fighting and leaving the support work to women. This way, the men will be reinforced in the field. Although this has not been appreciated for a long time, but it is a role that women can work on without any difficulty.
It has been found that there are cultures which do not get offended by women soldiers. Afghan soldiers and those from Iraq are not intimidated by female soldiers. This has the advantage that by using women soldiers, they are kept waiting and thus their willingness to fight is subdued for some time. This is a strategy that has some advantage. In war, it is not about the number of causalities by rather by the intelligence that is being played in the field. Women soldiers have been used to hold the enemy soldiers from fighting. Islam cultures are also known not to be offended by women soldiers and will hold their fights waiting for men soldiers to show up.
Women soldiers are also used to perform cultural sensitive searchers. This was seen in USMC lioness program which was used to search for female soldiers in the Syrian and Iraqi border. This was a task that could be performed by female soldiers alone. Any male soldier could not undertake this activity as they would be attacked by the enemy. Another issue is in the use of women to seek for information in cultures where the contact between male soldiers and women civilians is not allowed. In such cases, women soldiers will be used to search for information about the battle from the women in local communities. This way, they will gain information that has been hidden from the public before.
Women soldiers have also been seen to gain access to intelligence information from children and women of the local communities. This is evident in the way information is sought and gained from children. In such cases, male soldiers are not allowed to talk to women who are not related to them. They are not allowed to talk to women who are not married to them. They should only talk to women who are married to them.
Women have also been known to provide training for other women who want to join the police forces. This helps women to have vantage positions of serving their community in the police forces. This is an important role that the military women play if they are allowed to be in combat.
Disadvantages of women in combat
There are issues and concerns for women in the military. Women are known to be biologically weaker when they are compared to men. Their bones are less dense and are more fragile when compared to men. Another issue regarding to the body of women is that in aviation, women bodies are not as adept in handling g-forces when compared to men pilots. Men pilots are more adept in handling g-forces and they are, therefore, more suited to be in the aviation sector in handling the aircrafts while in the battlefield. Another research also shows that men pilots are less able to handle the g-forces in regard to blackouts. It has been found out that women are less likely to black out due to shorter blood vessels that are located at the neck. This is one advantage that women have in handling aircrafts. The health issues of women are also a point of concern for women who are in the military. This is the reason why women are not allowed to be in navy because they are not able to handle their stay in the waters. It has also been found out, or general knowledge, that women are smaller and shorter in body when compared to men. They have less resistance while they are in the military.
Another disadvantage with having women in the military is that they will bring concerns of eruptions of romantic relationships while they are in the military. An increase in the number of women in the military will mean that there will be an eruption of romantic relationships. This will disrupt the concentration of women while they are in the battlefield. Also of concern is the fact that women will be pregnant so that they avoid being in the forefront in the battlefield. A high number of women would deliberately have themselves pregnant so that they avoid service in the battlefield. Their body changes are not suitable for service in the military. It is important that women not be allowed to be in the military. This is an issue of concern that should be raised and be avoided with the strongest terms possible.
Another issue of concern is the welfare of women while in the battlefield. There are high risks of them being capture and tortured and even sexually assaulted. This is a possibility that is bound to happen while women are in the military. Given their weak nature, they are bound to be captured by the enemy because of their weak bodies and inflexibility while in the military.
There are also tactical concerns of having women to be in the military. In battlefields, women have been seen to be of less tactics in fighting the enemy. Women cannot be trusted to be in the frontline while fighting the enemy. This is a rising concern that has been taken by many countries to be a reason not to have women in close military operatives.
Another disadvantage of having women in the military is that when women are attacked, the men in the military will be tasked with saving females rather than undertaking the mission with which they are tasked and bound to achieve. They fail to undertake the mission with which they are bound to undertake. While males have been programmed to kill, they have not been programmed to leave women who have been attacked. This is a strategy that most enemies and military teams use in fighting. They attack females in order to distract the attention of the males.
Conclusion
In conclusion there is a lot of debate that has been raised in many countries regarding having women participate in the military. This paper supports having women in combat. There are many benefits that the military will gain by having women to serve in the military. There are some tasks that are best undertaken by women like care. There are some cultures where females will be at advantageous points than their male counterparts. This is one role that they can undertake perfectly. Governments should be put proper measures to have women in combat as it will come with many benefits.
Works Cited
Brown, Marie-Annette and Robinson Jo. When your body gets the blues: The clinically proven program for women who feel tired and stressed and eat too much. New York: Rodale, 2002.
Fenner, Lorry and Marie De Young. Women in Combat: Civic Duty Or Military Liability? Georgetown: Georgetown University Press, 2001.
Meade, Teresa A and Merry E Wiesner-Hanks. A companion to gender history. London: Wiley-Blackwell, 2006.
Meade, Teresa and Wiesner-Hanks Merry. A companion to gender history. London: Wiley-Blackwell, 2006.
Skaine, Rosemarie. Women at War: Gender Issues of Americans in Combat. Romania: McFarland, 1999.
—. Women in Combat: A Reference Handbook. New York: ABC-CLIO, 2011.
Stewart, John. Evolution's Arrow: The Direction of Evolution and the Future of Humanity. London: Chapman Press, 2000.
Worth, Richard. Women in combat: the battle for equality. Romania: Enslow Publishers, 1999.
