| Well, I seem to be the only member of the military (well, fromer member) to respond, and since I'm female, let me just give you my thoughts.
I was in the Air Force, and my job was going to be in intelligence. I say was going to be, because about halfway through boot camp, I had some serious medical problems and had to be discharged. As for how i got a job in intelligence, well I had to take the ASVAB, the military test, kinda like the SATs. And Arriana, I don't know where you got the idea that standards are lowered for women, we all had to take the same test, males and females. However, to get into the Air Force, you had to have a higher score then you would for the other branches.
I know a lot of people have problems with women fighting and dying in wars. But if a woman makes that choice, then she has the right to do so. It has nothing to do with intelligence, strength or anything else like that, because you get trained for your specific job, whether it be intelligence, medic, or combat soldier. And if you can't cut it, meaning if you can't meet all the requirements for your job, you won't do that job. This goes for men and women. Because I heard a lot of stories of guys who couldn't make it as armed solders, and they had to switch jobs, go to something like a desk job. There are plenty of women who can make it as soldiers, but there are rules (at least in the AF there are) that women can't take part in combat. It was just recently that women have been allowed to fly the aircraft. And they still can't fly combat planes.
I agree that mothers shouldn't be a part of combat. But if a woman like myself, unmarried and no children, decide that I want to be on the front lines, then if I can prove I can do it, I should be able to. Unfortunately, I don't think the rules will be changed any time soon. It goes against tradition, and a lot of people who have never even been in the military can't be convinced otherwise.
Again, this isn't a matter of 'men are better than women'. If women actually got the chance to fight, I'm willing to bet there wouldn't be any differences in who fought better, who can make better decesions, or works better in a team environment. Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses. Not all men are cut out for combat, just as not all women are cut out for 'desk jobs'. My aunt was also in the Af, and she worked on and repaired the aircraft. She couldn't stand sitting at a desk. But in this matter tradition will always prevail. Women will not get equal job opportunities in the military.
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And I remember now, at the top of my lungs in my arms, she dies, she dies. Controlling you through a chip in your butt since 2004 |