Samantha Sheppard, 28, from Plymouth in Britain and a member of the 2nd Light Tank Regiment, kneels down as she patrols the streets of east Basra, April 8, 2003. British officials said a local "Sheikh" would form the leadership in Basra province, as residents no longer under the yoke of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's loyalists complained of lawlessness. REUTERS/POOL/Jon Mills


personally I don't think women should be in ground combat positions like infantry....flying planes and helicopters is fine...but not something where an enemy man's superior physical ability (i.e. strength and speed) could give him an edge

My thoughts can be summed up in one quote from SST.

"Everybody fights, nobody quits, if you dont do your job, I'll shoot you myself."



Women want equality, then let them be equal.. I'm tired of men doing the dying and women doing the crying. Let them fight.. give em a gun and push their ass out that plane with everyone else.

but would you want to have to put your life in a female soldier's hands knowing that a male enemy soldier could more easily over power her? if she's in a position of importance like night guard or bringing up the rear, your whole squad/unit/etc is now exposed

As far as strength goes, there's no doubt that most of the men are stronger than women. But being able to aim a weapon, intelligence, endurance, discipline, and concentration between the two sexes could easily be equal. It takes more than just physical strength to be a soldier, and I think a woman has every right to be in the same spot as a man in the military.

Women who are trained to fight with the ferocity of men will do the job as such. Its not my place to defend since I am male, however, any woman who fights for "equal rights" would have to present her ability to do the job or be put lower on the scale for being incompetent in the face of the enemy.

Also, dont think all males are good soldiers. There are plenty of cowards among the ranks that would be better replaced by females than be there at all.

If a woman soldier does her job good it wouldn't have to come to whos stronger. It's a matter of where her bullet is pointed and who pulls it first.

I agree with Kris. I've never been a feminist or one to demand equality. But I definately think that if women are going to complain and demand equality they need to pick up their weight and fight just as any other man.

Here's my views -- ANYONE who wants to join the military should be allowed to fight... know why? BECAUSE I'm NOT doing it.

The only time you would ever see me in combat would be to repel an invader from American shores.

Its her decision. Its not like this is the first time shes held a gun. They've been trained in the field prior to deploying.

And its very tempting to post a picture of a certain person we know in her outfit, but since she can easily kick my ass and yours i wont .

the reason that was told to me while in the army as to why women are not involved in front lines combat is not because they cant do it. I was told it is because when females are killed it affects the male soldiers in thier unit psychologically in way that would decrease thier combat effectiveness. or somethin like that

David....most soldiers only touch a gun during basic training and then never again....e.g. Amy....she's a computer operator

I'm not talking about women being in the military...that's super duper....I'm talking about women in ground combat/infantry positions

As I'm prolly one of the few peeps on this board with any REAL experience in this matter, I give you my 2 cents +tax...

Although I have no problems with women in combat positions, this is NOT a good idea... a woman could operate a tank JUST as well as any guy. A woman could provide scouting reports as well as any guy. But a woman requires a BIT more upkeep health-wise than a man does, period. Also, having a mix of men and women in a small squad-size unit it a major distraction to a majority of their male counterparts. It has been proven that a man will naturally put himself in greater danger to himself and his unit by trying to "do the right thing" and protect a female counterpart... add to that the natural sexual urges we all get around the 18 mark, and you get a whole new ballgame of headaches. Heh, and TRUST me, just cuz it ain't in the news, doesn't mean there aren't enough troubles AS IS...

Like the mentioned in GI JANE... America can cope with losing men (soldiers)... but when their daugthers start poppin up in flag laden coffins, support for ANY type of action gets lost quickly...

There ya go... change please...

if i had the choice between fighting next to a 6'2" 200 lb guy... or a 5'7" 130 lb woman... imma pick the 200 lb guy... its not all about fighting ability and pointing guns... its about being captured, being removed from the battlefield if injured, and the ability to go hand to hand once the ammo runs out....

this may sound brutal... but id much rather see a man die, get captured, and fight hand to hand then a woman.... just because you have a gun and bullets... and are a dead on aim... doesnt mean you should be on the battlefield... even if a woman can compose herself on the battlefield, idont know how th enemy would treat a female that was captured... seeing as how we are one of the few societies that says we treat men and women equally...

i dont want one of our soldiers dying, or get captured.... and it would really tear me up if it was a female...

i think the US has a good policy on this... i say let them support our troops with intelligence... piloting and such running supplies... because as we all know thats just as important as throwing lead at the enemy...


and im glad women dont have to fill out a draft card when they turn 18... because the thought of women being drafted is a horrific one


men do make better combatants... theres no reason we should give the enemy an edge because we have females on the front lines

Why???

In Israel they have mandatory military service for everyone... is that horrific? I mean, I am not exactly for having that here, but I am surprised that you would be, carl.

Draft doesn't automatically mean front line combat, does it?

im glad we live in a country that enough people volunteer for the military that i can go in when i decide the right time is... and not forced into it... im very against mandatory military service, but im for the draft (when practiced with hesitance, which i think our nation is pretty good at doing)

drafted doesnt neccessarily mean front line combat, but when a draft is called... chances are lots of the people you are replacing are dead wounded or captured... and chances are you are filling their positions...

this is one of those situations where ive made my decision based on emotion and not logic... i dont want my tax dollars going to fund drawing up of women into the military... to catch bullets... or even have a chance of being killed... and during an all out war where people would be drafted... everyone inthe military has a chance of being killed... id hate to know, that through my tax dollars i funded the death of a woman, someone who could remain at home and continue to let our society function...

sending a woman into a deadly situation where they dont want to be in is different then sending a male into a situation where they dont want to be in... im not a woman... so i dont know this for fact... id just feel real bad if i supported a country that was responsible for conscripting a woman for mandatory military service... and i hate to sound sexist... but a womans place (during war) is back at the homeland... if they want to volunteer, thats fine... but someone needs to be back home keeping things as normal as possible... and women are real good at going about their lives... and men are better at fighting... and there are plenty of men to send off to fight before women are needed

i didnt read all the posts... but here's my opinion.

as long as she can fire her weapon with the same accuarcy as the rest of the squad.. she stays. infantry today is not gonna be about hand to hand combat... its about squad movement and fields of fire. so as long as the person can put her rounds on target... i dont care what is between their legs.