Sib

I don't really want to be a soldier, but when 'Mr.X' said that to my face (or something close to that) during a class debate, I was really annoyed. If a female wants to fight, I don't see the problem in just letting her do so... but at the same time... 'Mr. X' does have a good point and a strong argument. Even in this digital age, soldiers need to have superior physical abilities.

Women have already shown that they can fight, but people seem to have some deep reservations about sending girls off to war. But then is it really 'okay' to send boys off instead?... what is your opinion?

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Sinistra

I hate to say it but females are smarter then men some times. I mean If they want to be a solder let them be its not a crime to fight for your country.

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Niledhel

I'm not a girl but i still agree, women have just as much right as men to fight for their country. But if you think about it, most men have been sexist since the time when they knew that together men could overpower what women have to say. I personally am not sexist, i fully support females having as much right as men.

Legend

see but the point being said here is not about equal rights or not, it's about sending our country's best specimens over to fight

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Niledhel

It still fits into equal rights somewhere, somehow.

Juice

There are many more ways to serve your country then simply fighting on the front lines. If women want to fight i say train them and disciplin them and treat them like any other man, but if women are truely smarter overall then let them be the Hipachi repairers or the medical officers or the military intelligence. If all else fails let them be human mine detectors (slap from nowhere) ow, i was kidding.

From my personal experience though, men are better at teamwork and leadership. I'm not saying women aren't good at those things, just saying a big group of men will respect being told what to do a lil more. Women tend to find one person of a group they like and stick with that person as best friends and gossip about the other women behind their backs while men like to stick with a whole crowd and if they don't get along they just brwal with eachother untill its settled, while women tend to hold grudges.

Not being sexist (i think) just knowledge from my personal experience, mainly from what girls have actually told me in person. This one girl i knew who played volleyball was telling me how the guys at volleyball would support weaker players and help them out while girls would tend to scold players who mess up and aren't as supportive.

Please feel free to argue with me all you want, now i feel bad for dissing on girls. Girls rule YAY!!! (another slap from nowhere) ow what was that one for!!

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Talk less, Say More. Eat Less, Chew More. Whine Less, Breath More. Fear Less, Hope More. Hate Less, Love More.
And all good things are yours

Niledhel

Man, are you okay? You have a fair point, but what the hell was with the slapping?

Arrianna

This is a subject that I have discussed often. As I mentioned earlier I'm an ex-military brat so stuff like that strikes close to home. Every man I have spoken with in the military about women in combat are VERY against it. They know what they face and don't want a woman to go through that. That isn't a slam but out of respect. They care to much.

Historically there have been female soldiers. Not commanly in this country but there have been cultures where women were expected to be soldiers until they were married (at which point it was expected that they would defend their home instead) or even as simply the first line of defense. Historical documents record the Romans being terrified of running into all female units. Their viscousness was wet-your-pants intimidating. So precedence is there.

I do not believe that mothers should be soldiers. When you bring a life into this world you take on responsibility that I believe transcends all others (speaking as a mother). Also as a female I do believe women can be very good soldiers but that it requires a very different mindset then that of a nurturer, an opposite mindset really. I also think that for a woman to go in combat they should be required to have birth control (not the monthly stuff, the shot that works for years). If a woman is captured the chances of her being raped or so high they don't even bear calculating. Unfortunatly in the world these days it happens to the men as well but at least they don't have to worry about getting pregnate.

This brings me to one of my pet peeves, the dumbing down of requirments in the US in order to allow women to qualify. (See Niledhel, equal rights do come in the picture.) They did it with firefighters and they have done it with the military. It is more important to some people that women be equally represented so they force the rules to be changed so the women can qualify without having to actually be qualified. This isn't some business or a golf club. We're talking about the MILITARY! The people who are supposed to be defending our lives. I don't know about you but if my life is on the line I'm more concerned about whether they can do the job then whether the 'team' is politically correct.

Final point: (sorry it's taken so long but I had alot to say on the subject)

If women are capable of passing the requirments at the same level as the men and wish to set aside their lives to defend their country then more power to them. Men and women are different and have different strengths and weaknesses. If we are honest and just allow them to qualify there will be areas in the military that will find themselves made up of more of one then the other, that's natural. From the studies I have read very few women would qualify for combat based on physical requirments (before they were messed with) however it may just be a matter of time before most combat pilots are women. All I ask is that the qualifications be the same and based on the job necessities. But I'm not holding my breath.

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l Stone Hold l Now We're Cooking! l

Legend

I would agree with Arianna, and that was what I was saying. If all the men are not as good as the women, then we send women to war it's just that simple.Even in WWII, the women was part of the war. Not sure whether they might have actually picked up arms, but what they did was magnificient.

There are still a lot of supremists out there who can't take the fact that women are capable to become soldiers. Anyone seen John Travolta's "General's Daughter"?

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narrator

I'm all about equality and i think if a female wishes to become a soldier, then she should definately have the right to do so. Altho.... i can see why alot of people wouldnt want females to fight in wars.....alot of male soldiers that are in the military now and even ones from the past agree on one thing...they say that they couldn't stand the sight of a dead female on the battlefield. I can agree with that point of view. But i also think women should be able to do what they want. Sort of hard for me to answer......

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ffgirl23

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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