Should women be banned from frontline fighting 'in case men die trying to save them'?
The ban on women serving in close-combat roles in the armed forces is to stay in place after new research failed to allay concerns the MoD has about the impact of introducing female soldiers into frontline fighting units.
Ministers and forces chiefs felt there would be "potential risks" to "cohesion" from scrapping the exclusion of women from such ground combat roles, according to a review .
"Their capability in almost all areas is not in doubt, they win the highest decorations for valour and demonstrate that they are capable of acting independently and with great initiative," the review stated.
"But these situations are not those typical of the small tactical teams in the combat arms which are required deliberately to close with and kill the enemy.
"The consequences of opening up these small tactical teams in close-combat roles to women are unknown. Other nations have very mixed experiences."
The decision was "not based on a stereotypical view of women's abilities but on the potential risks associated with maintaining cohesion in small mixed-gender tactical teams engaged in highly dangerous close-combat operations," it added.
The review of the policy was the first since 2002 and was required under European law.
The Daily Mail interprets the concerns as meaning 'male soldiers were more likely to risk death to try to save a wounded female comrade instead of fighting on'.
Do you think female soldiers should be allowed to fight in the frontline?
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- News, News and Politics, Women, Iraq, 6 more
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Cruzin
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Why is it that in civilian life men and women can work very well under extreme pressures i.e. police/fire service/ambulance crews/FBI/MI6/MI5 etc but as soon as they put a camouflage women suddenly become a burden to the team and men lose the ability to think according to the military?
This smells sexist to me.
- 1 year ago
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Cruzin
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Mulers
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Cruzin:
theres jus tsomthing so appealing about a woman in camo hahahahha
- 1 year ago
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Mulers
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Mulers
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This article tries hard to display how it isn't offending women but clearly neglects the fact it's being blaitantly sexist against men
"The decision was "not based on a stereotypical view of women's abilities but"
Rather the stereotypical view of
'male soldiers were more likely to risk death to try to save a wounded female comrade instead of fighting on" - 1 year ago
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Mulers
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cantucwearebrothers
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"The decision was "not based on a stereotypical view of women's abilities but on the potential risks associated with maintaining cohesion..."
This feels like absolving people of the responsibility to function as a unified team regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc.
- 1 year ago
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cantucwearebrothers
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Mcellie
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Going by these reports, gender didn't matter in how professional the soldiers were during gunfire. Probably don't have enough time to think about gender roles during a battle.
"Bullets whizzing through the air around her, Army medic Sarah Bushbye sprang into action to treat four soldiers severely hurt in a suicide bomb attack.
She ignored the grave risk of more bombs and heavy gunfire to dash more than 100 yards across open ground to reach the men. [...]
She said: ‘It was like a horror movie. But it’s all about your training. If you get good training you can get through just about any situation.’
[...] Private Michelle Norris was the first woman to win the Military Cross after she dodged sniper fire to save the life of a critically injured colleague during a fierce battle in Iraq in 2006." http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1328281/Army-medic-Sarah-Bushbye-woman-a... - 1 year ago
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Mcellie
