Women in combat policy could change

[deminks]

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/08/women-in-combat-policy-could-change/

The Pentagon is expected to propose changes on Thursday to the current policy restricting women from certain combat roles, a senior defense official tells CNN.

Department of Defense officials are scheduled to hold an afternoon briefing revealing their plans as part of report being submitted to Congress.

The official declined to be named because no official announcement has been made, and would provide no further details on the changes.

The current policy, in place since 1994, effectively restricts women from serving in small infantry or other ground units directly involved in combat.

(end snip)

Great, let women fight for ya, but gawd forbid they could choose their own healthcare.

[TheWraith]

1. Um, military healthcare does cover contraception. nt

[deminks]

2. Wasn't talking about military coverage.

Just in general, women are now good enough to fight but in some circles can't choose their own healthcare.

Better?

[1ProudAtheist]

3. Hypocrisy

like kids being able to to fight and die for their country, yet not drink alchohol..............

[meow2u3]

4. I don't see why women can't operate a fighter plane or serve as military snipers

It doesn't take a lot of upper body strength to fire a gun with precision from a set point or to operate the controls of a fighter jet. After all, Dr. Ruth was a combat soldier in the Israeli army in her youth and look at how small she is!

[Ilsa]

5. A pilot friend had crank down his landing gear one time,

Said it was difficult and required all the muscle he could muster. What is interesting is that it was a turbo prop, not a jet, and women were allowed to be turbo prop pilots.

Another friend said he didn't think women would be allowed to serve in forward positions because of all the horrible things that could happen to them. Ironically, one of the worst stories I ever heard was regarding that employee of KBR in Iraq who was drugged and gang-raped by her felliw employees who left her for dead.

[pinboy3niner]

6. The military has had women fighter pilots for years, including in combat

I've seen quite a few articles mentioning this, including this one from 2008:

...women pilots started moving into combat roles in the mid-1990s. In the last five years in Iraq, women have flown hundreds of combat missions. And though they remain barred from ground combat units, women -- who make up about 15% of the military -- are playing a bigger fighting role than ever. About 100 have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/may/27/nation/na-militarywomen27

[jmowreader]

7. Military snipers are infantrymen first and foremost

Snipers are either 11B (Infantryman) or 11M (Fighting Vehicle Infantryman) who go to a special school at Fort Benning to learn how to shoot people half a mile away. But there's nothing preventing a sniper from going out on patrol when there's no one half a mile away who needs killin'.