The idea of women in combat is not unusual anymore.

They should be able to hold combat positions beacause

although physical strength matters, the military still

needs the intelligence that women can bring. Also,

banning women from the combat hurts their military careers.

Although women account for only ten percent of the

enlisted personnel (Time, 8/21/95/ Pg. 31), they

are still a major part in the armed forces. Their

performance recently has generated support from Congress and

the public for enhancing the role of females in the military.

During the Persian Gulf War, women were sent to the

Middle East to fly helicopters, service combat jets,

refuel tankers, and load laser-guided bombs. Their

performance has led the world to realize that women

are extremely useful in combat. Defense secretary Dick

Chaney said "Women have made a major contribution to

this [war] effort. We could not have won without them."

Leaders in the field agreed. The Gulf War had the largest

deployment of women in the armed forces in history. These

women encountered the same risks as the men they served with.

Twenty one females lost their lives (Holm, Women in

Combat: The New Reality, pg. 67-68).

In the Persian Gulf, there were no exact

positions and all areas were equally vulnerable,

so the idea of safe havens for women was not really

applicable. By many armed forces policies,

females are banned from combat jobs and units,

but in the Persian Gulf War females were assigned

to battleships, aircraft carriers, and marine

support groups dug into the desert. From

their experience in the Persian Gulf, military women

have earned the right to be treated as equals with

men and not as protected individuals.

In spite of their record as able combat personnel, there

are laws and policies that restrict women in the United

States Military from serving in positions that require

them to engage in direct combat. Women in the Air

Force and Navy are barred from aircraft and vessels that

have a chance to be exposed to combat. The official,

established policies of the Army and Marine Corps exclude

women from combat (Snyder, pg. 75-76). These policies

prohibit women, on the basis of gender only, from over twelve

percent of the skill positions and thirty-nine

percent of the total positions offered by the

Department of Defense. Such policies excluding women

from combat need to be repealed by Congress. The

Fourteenth Amendment's "Equal Protection Clause" insures

every citizen "the equal protection of the laws." Although the

clause is not applicable to Federal government, the Supreme Court

said the Due Process Clause in the Fifth Amendment prohibits

the federal government from making unreasonable classifications.

Therefore the set laws and policies that exclude women from

combat not only violate the Fifth Amendment, but also deny

women their fundamental right to engage and excel in their

chosen occupation.

There have been many court cases involving

women in combat over the years, although

there has never been a case directly

challenging the constitutionality laws and

regulations banning women from combat. In

the case of Frontiero vs. Richardson, the court

rejected the idea that "man is, or should be,

woman's protector or defender," which in

actuality, put women not on a pedestal, but in

a cage. In Satty vs. Nashville Gas Co., the

decision stated that gender does not determine

who is able to perform capably as a soldier.

In the case of Schlesinger vs. Ballard, it was

realized by the Supreme Court that the

combat exclusion hinders the abilities

of women to gain the experience needed for

promotion within the military. The combat

exclusion puts women wishing to obtain

qualification for high-level positions at a

disadvantage, because leadership training is

usually acquired in combat-type positions.

Although many females are not eager to go into

combat, there are women who can and want to do

the job. In a time where technology takes

over battle lines and brains might be more

important than brawn, a reason to exclude women

is non-existant.

By: Megan Craven,

Jennifer Kopper,

Stacey Rohrer

Sources:

Time Magazine, Aug 21, 1991 p.31.

Holm, Jeanne, Women in Combat: The New Reality, pg. 67-68.

Snyder, Kathy L. "An Equal Right to Fight."