What do you think: Women in combat units?
Published: January 13, 2011
WASHINGTON – Supporters of women in combat got a boost this week when the Military Leadership Diversity Commission released its draft report recommending an end to the restrictions on female troops.
Until now, either U.S. law or Pentagon policy has prohibited female troops from serving in any unit whose primary mission is direct ground combat, although they may serve in combat support roles. But proponents of women in combat roles have argued that the distinction is obsolete in the new combat environments of Iraq and Afghanistan, where support units and noncombat troops have routinely found themselves involved in roadside bomb attacks and insurgent ambushes.
An change in the rules could have wide-ranging effects on troops’ deployment schedules and living quarters downrange, although female veterans say they’re already used to the austere conditions and close living quarters of combat bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.
What do you think would be the biggest challenges of allowing women to serve in combat units? Is the move too risky, or long overdue?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
