After nearly 250 years of exclusion, women are finally permitted to serve as front-line combatants in the United States armed forces. While any step towards gender equality is a positive one, allowing women to serve in this capacity is not something that women (and men, for that matter) unanimously agree is a positive change.
For as long as the United States has had a military, the majority of those enlisted have been male. The reasons for this majority trace back to traditional gender identities that hold men in the fighter/protector role and women in the nurturer role. And while these stereotypes have been broken over the last century, military service has been one of the last remaining places where the stereotype was not only institutionally enforced, but commonly viewed as a benefit for women rather than a drawback. Women have been able to enlist in the military since the mid-twentieth century, and today, they make up approximately 20 percent of those enlisted. But while they have played an incredible role in the development of the United Statesai??i?? defense, they have never been able to fight on the front line of combat, and have been excluded from the draft.
The Pentagonai??i??s new stance on the matter, revealed last week by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, lifts the ban on women in combat. Any soldier, regardless of gender, that passes the physical standard tests allowing for combat, will be permitted to enter the field.
Among the concerns raised by the Pentagonai??i??s lifting of the ban is the physical standard. Military leaders have expressed concern that the majority of women will not be able to pass the fitness tests required of combatants, and there is fear that, if the number of women in combat roles is too low, politicians will be eager to lower the fitness standards in order to increase diversity. They fear that a lower fitness standard will increase the risks of frontline combat.
A second concern is that women will now be included in any future national military draft. Excluded throughout American history, the draft has become particularly unpopular since World War II, as the justifications for going to war become grayer and grayer. During Vietnam, the majority of men greatly feared being drafted and sent to war, and should a similar situation arise in the nationai??i??s future, it will be a concern that women will now face as well.
Of course, many countries have had no issue with including women in combat. Israel, as one example, has long required both men and women to participate in military service. The lift on this ban sees one of the major barriers between men and womenai??i??s roles in society lifted, and will also allow women to pursue the exact same military opportunities that men have used to achieve long, successful careers in the U.S. government.
Still, while many consider fighting for oneai??i??s country an honor, it remains one of the most dangerous occupations available for young people. Women will now be subjected to even greater danger in the theaters of war, but they will be doing it as equals for the first time. http://trimsalon-marlie.nl/?p=1760 buy generic levitra no prescription Buy prednisolone without prescription uk Pills Buy http://awsomedealz.biz/buy-desyrel-trazodone/ cheap stromectol Purchase best price viagra from uk http://en.marceloalvarez.com/how-much-does-flomax-cost-at-walgreens/

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