Not Everyone Is Convinced That Women In Combat Is A Good Thing

Retired US Marine Writes Scathing Letter To Naval Academy About Women In Combat -- Business Insider

It's been roughly four months since the Pentagon cleared women for combat roles. In that time, we've heard many arguments — some say women already fight, while others say not quite like the way infantry does.

Above all, from within the ranks there's been a call to maintain training standards, regardless of gender.

One Vietnam-era Marine Lieutenant Colonel recently voiced his opinion in a letter to the Naval Academy.

Mark Thompson of Time's Battleland posted Bill Hemingway's letter today.

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My Comment: The retired Vietnam-era Marine Lieutenant Colonel's letter makes a point .... but in to day's military - political culture no one is going to listen to him.

Why So Few Female Combat Pilots

She Has The Right Stuff: Female Combat Pilots Have Been Flashing Their Skills For 20 Years -- Washington Times

Retired Air ForceCol. Martha McSally, who logged more than 300 combat flying hours, today is recalling how she took part in the Pentagon’s last gender revolution, as the U.S. military prepares to open a new frontier for women — direct ground combat.

The winter of 1993: Col. McSally and fewer than a dozen other young female officers got calls from the Air Force telling them a 45-year ban on women flying fighter jets and bombers was ending. They had been picked to be pioneers if they wanted to try to show they had the right stuff.

“Am I interested?” she recalls saying. “I’m flying T-37s [trainers] in Del Rio, Texas. What do you think? Of course I’m interested.”

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My Comment: I am surprised by these stats. I expected the percentage of female combat pilots to be much higher .... especially since the rules were changed over 20 years ago.

U.S. Military Looks For A Few Good Women

As Qualified Men Dwindle, Military Looks For A Few Good Women -- NPR

When the Pentagon said earlier this year that it would open ground combat jobs to women, it was cast in terms of giving women equal opportunities in the workplace — the military workplace.

But the move has practical considerations, too. The military needs qualified people to fill its ranks, and it's increasingly harder to find them among men.

"It's fairly common knowledge that our population of military-age young men, who qualify for the military, is declining," Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said in an interview with NPR just after the Pentagon announced that women no longer be excluded from ground combat jobs.

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My Comment: With defense budget cuts now the norm, I do not see the U.S. military hiring many of these recruits. On a side note, here is an interesting post on female soldiers and the difficulties that they face when they switch from front lines to homefront.

Six Of The 20 Nominees Competing For The Title Of Miss Israel This Year Are In The Military

Tom Bilkas, Bamahane

One Of These Six Israeli Soldiers Could End Up Being Miss Universe -- Business Insider

At least six of the 20 nominees competing for the title of Miss Israel this year will know how to field strip an M-16 military rifle, and have the strength to knock out a few pushups during the talent portion.

That's because the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have six beauty queens in their midst vying for the crown — with specialties like paratrooper instructor, Air Force operator, squad instructor or logistics specialist.

“When I got into the competition, my commanders were really supportive," Sgt. Adi Levy told the IDF Blog. "Their encouragement is something I really appreciated.”

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My Comment: All six look good in khaki green.

Only Two Female Marines Step Forward For The U.S. Marine Corps‘ Infantry Officer Course

MarSOC's first female engagement team will spend about nine months with 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, which is scheduled to take command of a task force later this year that will oversee U.S. spec ops forces in northern and western Afghanistan. Sgt. Jennifer L. Jones / Marine Corps

Few Female Marines Step Forward For Infantry -- Washington Times

Female Marine officers are unlikely to join the infantry anytime soon, in part because of a lack of volunteers for the Marine Corps‘ Infantry Officer Course, which was opened to women in September.

Only two of about 80 eligible female Marines have volunteered for the course — a grueling, three-month advanced regimen conducted at Quantico, Va., that was opened to women to research their performance.

Of the two female volunteers, one washed out on the first day, along with 26 of the107 men, and the other dropped out two weeks later for medical reasons, a Marine Corps spokesman said.

The research effort was launched after the Pentagon opened to women more than 14,000 jobs that could place them closer to front lines and combat.

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My Comment: At least two female marines stepped up.

Should Women Worry That The Petraeus Scandal Will Hurt Their Role As Advisers To Military Leaders

Women Worry Petraeus Scandal Will Hurt Their Role As Advisers To Military Leaders -- McClatchy News

WASHINGTON — The burgeoning sex scandal that has swept up retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, his biographer, Paula Broadwell, and now Petraeus’ successor as the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Marine Gen. John Allen, is alarming the small cadre of women advisers who enjoy extraordinary access to top generals based on their expertise and scholarship.

Often coming from non-military backgrounds, these women’s work has informed U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than a decade, offering fresh ideas on topics such as local governance, human rights, rule of law and counterinsurgency, with an ability to challenge the commanders from a position of independence.

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My Comment: In the short term women in sensitive military roles will be impacted. But over time the men will soon (cough cough) forget.

This Is Definitely Not Your Father's Army

Photo: Army

Another Sign This Is Not Your Father’s Army -- Time

Top military leaders have made clear that today’s U.S. military couldn’t exist without women, who make up about 14% of the force.

During October, the Pentagon’s Military Health System (MHS) has been highlighting information related to female warriors’ health. The Army even has A Guide to Female Soldier Readiness.

The MHS recently noted that the Pentagon’s Human Performance Resource Center has tips on “reducing menstrual symptoms and suppressing the monthly cycle.”

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My Comment: This will probably become an even bigger issue as the percentage of women in the military continues to increase.

Serving British NCO, 26, Wins UK Bodybuilding Championship

Photo: British soldier Meslissa Haywood as she is known on the front line

Hey, Corp, Is That An Army-Issue Bikini? Serving NCO, 26, Wins UK Bodybuilding Championship -- Daily Mail

* The British Army corporal, 26, served in Iraq in 2007
* Haywood is from Salisbury, Wiltshire, and in the Adjutant General's Corps
* Competition took place in Manchester

She's more used to covering up in weighty military fatigues and camouflage face paint.

But it seems Melissa Haywood is also very comfortable stripping down to less. A lot less.

The 26-year-old British Army corporal from Wiltshire, Salisbury, who served in Iraq in 2007 in the Adjutant General's Corps, has just won the best bikini body award at the UK Bodybuilding Championships.

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My Comment: Great video.

It's A Girl's Life In The Army!

On patrol: Lieutenant Jessica French visits an Afghan community in Helmand. As a Female Engagement officer, her jobs is to gain the support and trust of Afghan women

It's A Girl's Life In The Army! Portraits From The Afghan Frontline Show How Female Troops Are Winning Hearts And Minds In Afghanistan -- Daily Mail

Even when you're 8,000 miles from home on the Afghan frontline, it seems a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

It might be reserving the shower for a hairwash, then letting your hair down after a hard day's work.

And even though you're in the desert, it's essential to bring all the toiletries you have at home to allow yourself a little pampering, as well as your non-regulation knickers.

These remarkable photos capture the everyday lives of the Army's women 'engagement officers' who fight in the vital battle for hearts and minds across Helmand.

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Previous Post: Women In The British Army In Afghanistan (Photo Gallery)

My Comment: I posted this story earlier this morning .... but these Daily Mail pics are clearer.

Women In The British Army In Afghanistan (Photo Gallery)

The images captured by Alison highlight how women, both British and Afghan, respond to the often austere conditions in which they find themselves and how they maintain their morale and individuality in the face of demanding circumstances. Captain Alice Homer is an officer with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. She has just spent six months running a small section of soldiers in Camp Bastion.Picture: Alison Baskerville

My Comment: An impressive collection of photographs by Alison Baskerville. The photo gallery starts here.

G.I. Janes

Captain Rebecca Murga with a patient at a women’s hospital in central Afghanistan. Courtesy of Rebecca Murga

G.I. Janes -- Rebecca Murga, New York Times

As a senior in college in 2001, I was coming out of a morning class when I passed a television and saw two planes crash into the Twin Towers. That was the day I decided to join the military.

I look back on that sunny September day, after two deployments and eight years in the military, and realize how naïve I was. Things then were black and white. After deployment, you realize there is no such thing as black and white. Just various shades of gray you try to sort through and understand.

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My Comment: No question about it .... this is a must read.

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All graphics by Chris Spurlock. A detailed table can be found here.

Unseen: Trailblazing Military Women Forced To Fight For Recognition, Equal Treatment -- Huffington Post

After a rocket-propelled grenade sent the Black Hawk helicopter tumbling out of the sky over Iraq, the medics got to work fast on the co-pilot, Capt. Duckworth. Standard operating procedure: cut away the desert-camo uniform before burnt fabric melds with burnt flesh. Get at the wounds. Stop the bleeding. Save what's left.

When you show up at Walter Reed Medical Center in that kind of condition, you show up naked, with nothing except the hospital gown. So you're given a "comfort kit," a little backpack containing some toiletries and clothes. Duckworth awoke there around Thanksgiving 2004, a few weeks after the shootdown, to find a comfort kit waiting with slippers, a shaving kit and men's jockey shorts.

She had to laugh.

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My Comment: The battlefield is 'gender blind', as many of our female soldiers (wounded or not) can attest to. This is an excellent post from the Huffington Post, read it all.

Women Will Now Be Permitted To Attend The U.S. Marines' Infantry School

Marine Cpl. Lakin Booker from the Female Examination Team sights in during a security halt in Marjah, Afghanistan. Female students will soon enroll at the Infantry Officers Course in Quantico, Va., for the first time. Lance Cpl. Christopher M. Carroll / Marine Corps

Women To Attend Marines' Infantry School -- CNN

The U.S. Marine Corps plans to allow a yet-undetermined number of female volunteers to enroll in the school that trains its infantry combat officers, the Marine Corps Times has reported.

The plan to open the Infantry Officers Course to women is part of the service's effort to determine which additional jobs may be open to women in the future, Gen. Joseph Dunford, the Marines' assistant commandant, told the Marine Corps Times.

"We are in the process right now of soliciting volunteers," Dunford told the Times for a story published Wednesday.

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More News On Women Being Permitted For The First Time To Attend Marines' Infantry School

USMC 4-star: Women to attend infantry school -- Marine Times
Marine Corps to Open Infantry Officer Course to Women -- Military.com
Marine Corps opens combat school in Quantico, Va. to women -- MSNBC
The Marines Are Enrolling Women In Infantry Officers School For The First Time Ever -- Business Insider
A Few Good Women: Marines Open Infantry to Females -- Danger Room
Marines open infantry training to women -- Government Executive
Women allowed at Marine Corps infantry school -- Examiner

Scraping Gender Barriers In The Australian Military

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Female Australian soldiers in Afghanistan (Wikipedia)

Australia Military May Scrap All Gender Barriers -- New York Times/AP

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Women fight for militaries around the world but rarely if ever are allowed to take the jobs most closely associated with soldiering — those focused on ground combat in close quarters and even hand to hand. That may be about to change in Australia.

A policy overhaul to be decided by Cabinet within weeks would remove all gender barriers from the military next year, arguably making the Australian Defense Force the world's leader on gender equality.

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My Comment: This is politics on full display in Australia .... but many military organizations will still be looking and analyzing the impact that scraping gender barriers will have on the overall performance of the Australian military .... and (yes) this may be politics, the results (if successful) may become the standard for most militaries in the world.

Wikipedia has a section devoted to women in Australia's military. That link is here.

War Is Gender Neutral

“There were five of us sharing the same B-Hut, now there are three,” said Lt. Riannon Blaisdell-Black, the commander of the Third Platoon of the 164th Military Police. Christoph Bangert for The New York Times

For Soldiers, Death Sees No Gender Lines -- New York Times

MEHTARLAM, Afghanistan — When Specialist Devin Snyder, a 20-year-old from the Southern Tier of New York State, was killed by a bomb planted on a highway near this town in eastern Laghman Province on June 4, she became the 28th female American soldier to die in Afghanistan.

Servicewomen have died in all of America’s wars, but usually they were support personnel such as nurses and clerks. In Afghanistan, most women who have died were killed in combat situations, as Specialist Snyder was, despite the military’s official prohibition on women in combat jobs.

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Update #1: US military deaths in Afghanistan at 1,522 -- Yahoo News/AP
Update #2: US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,463 -- Washington Post/AP

My Comment: Yup .... in war time you are not focused on the gender, sexual orientation, or race of your fellow soldier. Everyone supports everyone for the same reason .... to get back home alive and in one piece.

Parris Island Marine Base Gets Its First Female General

Reynolds congratulates Col. Steven Hanson as he takes over her post at the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters April 28. Reynolds is also the first female Marine Corps general to hold a command post in a battle zone

Famed Parris Island Marine Base Gets First Female General -- The Daily Mail

A female general has been appointed to the top post at Parris Island, marking the first time ever that the famed Marine Corps training depot has been headed by a woman.

Brig. Gen. Loretta Reynolds is taking command of the historic South Carolina base today, where a gruelling training regime turns out 20,000 new Marines each year, just 2,400 of them women.

In the 96 years it has graduated recruits, Parris Island has never seen a female commander.

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Update #1: Historic Marine base gets 1st-ever female general -- AP
Update #2: First female commander to take helm at Marines' Parris Island -- Reuters

My Comment: I do not know anything about Brig. Gen. Loretta Reynolds .... but I suspect that for her to be appointed to such a position, she must be one tough Marine. Congrats to her for getting the post.

Trailblazing In Afghanistan The "Dudette 07" Carries Out The First All-Female Flight Mission In Afghanistan.

Major General Margaret Woodward Becomes First American Woman To Have A Senior Combat Role

Maj Gen Margaret Woodward on USS Mount Whitney with senior Nato military staff. Photograph: Reuters

US Hands Command Of Libya Air Strategy To Senior Female Officer -- The Guardian

Major General Margaret Woodward becomes first American woman to been given such a senior combat role

The US air campaign in Libya is being run by Major General Margaret Woodward, the first American woman to been given such a senior combat role.

Woodward, who has been involved in wars in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan and has clocked more than 3,800 hours as a pilot, is running the air operation from Germany, where the US Africa Command is based.

Her background is mainly in logistics and her specialism is refuelling, prompting a debate in military circles over whether she is the right choice for a combat role.

But her high profile in the Libyan conflict is a boost to women in the US military who complain daily about discrimination.

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My Comment: Wow .... this came out of the blue. To attain her rank and responsibility .... in such a male dominated profession .... she must be able to kick ass (and also) have the brains on knowing how to do it.

Photo Gallery Of U.S. Service Women (Huge Photo Gallery)

CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, IRAQ (22 August 2006) — Female Marines training for the Lioness Program watch as police officers, Rory Byrnes and David Redd from a police transition team demonstrate the proper procedures to search people for weapons. Eight female Marines from different units within 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing volunteered for the Lioness Program to conduct security searches of women crossing into Iraq. Byrnes is a McKinney, Texas native, and Redd is a Madison County, Mississippi native.

WNU Editor: This is a large photo gallery of U.S. service women. The link to see it all is here.

Should Women Soldiers Be Assigned To Units Involved In Ground Combat?

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK (22 October 2004) — Marines from 6th Communication Battalion, Brooklyn, New York, prepare for an upcoming color guard presentation. (From right to left) LCpl. Leanne Bohach, Cpl. Liza Nicholas, Sgt. Geralyn Rolon, and LCpl. Elizabeth Quinones make up the first all-female Marine color guard the battalion has ever had.

Women In Combat -- Center For Military Readiness

Recent news reports about the unprecedented roles of female soldiers serving in Iraq have generated many inquiries about the issue of women in land combat. Should female soldiers be assigned to units that engage in direct ground combat, and if not, why not?

The 1992 Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces conducted the last major study on the feasibility of assigning military women to close combat units. In the course of that comprehensive process, the commission compiled a huge body of testimony and documentation on many issues related to the issue of women in combat, ranging from physical capabilities and deployability to interpersonal relationships and cultural questions. Most of these issues remain valid today.

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My Comment: An interesting list of questions and answers on having (or not having) women participate in combat. Read it all.