Women in the U.S. Military

[Gregory Matthews]

As we approach Memorial Day, I consider it appropriate that we consider the role that females may now have in the military and to respond to the charge that some make that females do not have to meet the same standards as do the males.

NOTE:  My first example is of a female in the California National Guard.  As a point of information Reserve Component standards may not be the same as those for people on active duty.

Fourteen years ago, SSGT Cindi Baltezore  enlisted in the California National Guard.  At that time, she wanted to enlist in a job position serving in tanks.  But, that was closed to women.  So she enlisted in a Military Police positon.  In 2009 she served in Afghanistan and in Iraq in 2010.  While working at a military prison in Kabul, she was personally involved in a detainee riot in which the females were attacked as much as were the males.

With the 2015 order opening most job positions to females Baltezore applied to transfer from a Military Police Position to an Infantry position.  As part of this process, she was required to pass a physical proficiency test, which included, as it did for the males, dragging a 270 pound dummy, a 12 mile march while carrying a 100 pound pack and working with grenade and rocket launchers. She was one of three (3) females to pass all requirements and to be approved for infantry training.

NOTE:  Yes, I am aware of and I have myself, taken a 25 mile road march.  But, the actual requirements for a unit member are different than the initial requirements to begin the training.

On the active duty front:

*  Two female infantry captains are assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division.

* One female officer has joined the 75th Ranger Regiment.

* A number of females are assigned to tanks and heavy fighting vehicles in the 4th Cavalry Division. 

*  18 females recently graduated from enlisted Infantry training at ft. Benning.

*  Female bomb disposal technicians have worked in combat.

NOTE:  Present Army policy is that a unit must have at least two (2) female officers and NOCs before it can be assigned female enlisted personnel. 

NOTE:  I served in combat, with a coed unit.  Yes, there were issues that we faced.  In general, I found the typical female soldier to  be of higher quality than  many of our male soldiers.  The reason: they had more obstacles to surmount. 

 

 

 

[Gregory Matthews]

 

As to the 18 females who graduated, last week, from infantry training, the final test for both males and females included:

*  Throwing a grenade 35 meters.

* Dragging a 268 pound dummy 15 meters.

* Running five (5) miles in 45 minutes or less.

* A twelve (12) mile road march carrying a 68 pound pack.

 

[dgrimm60]

GREGORY

thank you for  posting this  information---it was  interesting

 

dgrimm60

[Gregory Matthews]

This is Memorial Day.  We should remember the men and women who have served our country placing their lives on the line for what we have here in our country.

[Gregory Matthews]

For people who want to research this area of study, there is much more that exists on the Internet.  But here are a frew websites that may be of interest:

1)       https://www.cmrlink.org/content/Home/35891/grim_toll_of_military_women_killed_in_war

 

Since the attack on America on September 11, 2001, a total of 147 women deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait have lost their lives in service to America.

 

The above website lists the names of those 147 women with a brief statement as to the circumstances of their death.

 

2)      http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/26/the-names-you-don-t-hear-nearly-200-women-have-died-in-iraq-and-afghanistan

The above website tells the stories of some 200 U.S. women who have been killed in combat.

 

3)      http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/24/us/military-women-glance/index.html

The above website provides information on the 200,000 plus women serving in the U.S.; military.

 

4)      http://www.virtualwall.org/women.htm

The above website lists 67 women who died in Viet Nam, 59 of whom were civilians partially due to the fact that women were restricted from serving in the military, but could serve alongside the military as civilians