It really sounds to me like a case-by-case basis is what's necessary to determine it. I know plenty of women who would probably perform better in combat than I would. I don't let that bruise my ego; I think that if they can fulfill the demands of the job, they should be allowed to do it.
But statistically, we do have to face facts: In general, women tend to be less physically and mentally capable than men. So women will inevitably be under-represented in combat roles no matter what. If the forces of political correctness start demanding that we scale down the requirements so that women can meet them, then I would be strongly opposed.
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Originally Posted by Nyles
I'm serving in combat with women right now, and frankly it's a non-issue. A soldier is a soldier, man or woman. There are no occupations left in the CF that are gender segregated.
As for the old argument about women getting raped if captured, well, I've got news for you. If you are a man and get captured in Afghanistan, chances are you're going to get raped. This is not bashing Islam (which I have no patience for), or gay panic, or demonizing the enemy, it is a simple fact of life. In fact over here, because of Pashtunwali, women stand LESS chance of getting raped than men.
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Yeah, I've heard the same thing. The Pashtun are so afraid of women that they actually like little boys better. It's a running joke about them.
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Originally Posted by AdAstra2009
I've read that Islamic fighters do not surrender when it is a women as oppose to a man because they consider it shameful to surrender to a women.
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Then how do you explain the Iraqi soldiers in the Gulf War surrendering to newscrews, many of which had female reporters?
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Originally Posted by k9870
Its more that if several soldiers are captured, a terrorist will threaten to kill or torture the women to make male prisoners talk, this is actually quite effective, as men crack to protect a woman way easier than to protect other men.
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Yeah, but that's something you can train them to deal with because it's based mostly on culture. It doesn't strike me as a compelling enough reason.
As I've said, I think that even if SF were open to women, there would still be almost no women (if any) who qualified. So it strikes me as a moot point.