America Finally Lifts Ban on Women in Combat

Defense secretary Leon Panetta announced on Jan. 24 that the Pentagon will be dropping its ban on allowing women in combat. The rule was made in 1994 which restricted women from performing various roles in combat such as armor infantry and artillery. The Defense Department had already opened up 12,425 jobs to women last May, but with the entire ban being dropped, now over 230,000 new positions will open for women.

This new change to the military represents yet another gender barrier being torn down in the United States. However, we still have to ask whether the safety of our armed women outweighs this new symbol of equality our country will display on the battlegrounds. According to a poll by The Huffington Post from Jan. 23 to 24, 45 percent of Americans favor allowing women in combat, while 21 percent stated indifference and 26 percent were opposed to it.

I don’t believe we have enough information to make a concrete decision on the matter. For starters, we’d need to know exactly what the standards are to be allowed in combat. For example, the Navy SEALs require certain times to be met during a physical test which includes a 14 mile run, two mile ocean swim as well as a basic lifesaving test. The Army’s Delta Force puts potential candidates through an 18 mile all-night land navigation course in which a person must carry a 40 pound rucksack throughout it.

Many opposed to women in combat believe certain standards already set in place will be lowered to help women pass those tests and be allowed to position themselves on the frontline. With these standards being ignored or taken lightly, thousands of lives could be at risk. Panetta said in his speech, “If members of our military can meet the qualifications for a job — and let me be clear, we are not reducing qualifications — then they should have the right to serve.” Of course, these are only words and we will have to wait and see how it actually pans out as women begin to apply for these positions. However, if these standards remain as rigid and as difficult as they are, then it only makes sense to allow women who pass them to serve in combat.

We can’t look past the very culture of the military when deciding if this dropped ban will end up being something positive. In an institution where over half of the women have reported being sexually harassed, as well as 25 percent saying they have been sexually assaulted, we have to take into consideration that this new freedom given to female combatants may help even fuel some of the negative feelings towards them. U.S. Representative Jackie Speier shared her opinion on these high assault numbers in an interview with USA Today stating, “It comes down to the culture. It hasn’t changed, no matter what the generals or the secretaries of Defense say about zero tolerance. They have not scrubbed the sexism … out of the military.”

By building equality among combatants, could that possibly help get rid of some of the sexism in the military or will it only make it worse? General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, believes that allowing women in combat will positively affect the current environment of the military. He stated, “When you have one part of the population that is designated as warriors and another part that’s designated as something else, I think that disparity begins to establish a psychology that in some cases led to that environment. I have to believe, the more we can treat people equally, the more likely they are to treat each other equally.” Any form of sexual assault is mostly rooted in the desire for power over an individual. By giving the chance for women to hold the same jobs as men in the military, it seems that the power is being evenly distributed.

Lani Scanlan, an exercise science major who is a third year member of the ROTC program at UT shared her thoughts on the matter.  Though she has no plans herself to be involved in combatant roles in the army, Scanlan believes that women should be allowed to go out for a position if they choose. “I agree that the ban should be lifted and women who pass the standards and tests set for these positions should be allowed to serve in combat,” she said.  “I personally think that lifting these bans will positively affect the overall camaraderie between men and women in the army.”

Of course on top of the standards set to be allowed in battle, other issues need to be addressed as far as the small living quarters combatants will have to share. Those opposed to women in combat bring up the point that there may be times when military infantry are put in the position where they have to strip down, which may cause embarrassment and discomfort that can serve as a possible distraction in battle. However, if these issues are handled correctly as well as firm standards put in place, I believe that allowing women in combat can turn out to be a positive change in our military.

Vanessa Righeimer can be reached at vanessa.righeimer@spartans.ut.edu