MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan — As the only female aviation systems warfare operator working for the Navy at Misawa, Petty Officer 3rd Class Emily Worcester said she likely would be involved in combat missions if on sea duty.
Though she declined to describe her job duties on the ship for security reasons, the 22-year-old from Harrington, Maine, said women belong in combat, whether on the front lines or in a supporting role. She opposes an effort by lawmakers to limit females in combat.
“If someone wants to go and fight, they should have the right to go and fight,” she said Tuesday.
Sgt. Jenifer A. Destroyer, 40, of Riverside, Calif., who serves with the 251st Signal Detachment at Yongsan Garrison, South Korea, said the proposal screams of sexism.
“Women did not join the military to type memos and make tea and cookies for the boys,” Destroyer said when contacted via phone Tuesday. “Women have been doing combat support roles for years.”
Destroyer joined the military in 1987 and served in Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Many of her male friends who are soldiers say, “‘Come on, if the women want to serve … let them do it,’” she said.
“They need us out there,” she said of her male colleagues. “Without us, they can’t do their jobs.”
Soldiers serving with the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea interviewed by Stars and Stripes supported the idea of women serving in combat units.
Cpl. Dominic Nolan, 20, of Las Vegas, with the Camp Stanley-based Company D, 1st Battalion, 38th Field Artillery Regiment, said he recently discussed the issue with other soldiers in a class on equal opportunities.
“I have no problem with them being in combat. There is a lot of talk about the male instinct to protect women but if I am in a foxhole with anybody, as long as they can do what they have to do I don’t have any problem with them being there,” he said.
Pfc. Lenny Curet, 29, of Fort Worth, Texas, with the Camp Red Cloud-based 61st Maintenance Company, agreed, saying, “There are a lot of young ladies in my company who can hold their own. I have no problem fighting next to them, being led by one or being commanded by one.”
A few male Marines on Okinawa, however, cited physical strength in expressing some support of the ban.
Marine Cpl. Robert Myler recently returned to Camp Foster after seven months in Iraq, where he was a vehicle commander and gunner in convoys.
Female Marines were essential when Muslim women had to be searched, he said. “Women have to be there because it would cause political conflict if they weren’t, especially with the Shiites,” Myler said. “If you so much as look at their women, they get extremely upset.”
But, Myler said, he backs the ban in situations in which females are unnecessary. Were an explosive to strike a convoy and leave a servicemember badly injured, Myler said, he wonders whether a woman would be able to save a man. “I don’t doubt that they have the willpower but do they have the physical strength to carry me to safety?” he asked.
Countered Marine Staff Sgt. Melissa Kanelos: “I know a lot of men that can’t do that either. That’s a lame excuse.”
T.D. Flack, Erik Slavin, Seth Robson and Leo Shane contributed to this story.
