Women in combat: More than an equal right

Defense Secretary Ash Carter recently announced that in 2016 all combat jobs would open to women "with no exceptions." Thus, the United States will join Israel, Canada and some European nations in allowing women to serve on the front lines.

There have been dissenting voices from within the military. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, favors keeping certain direct combat positions such as infantry and machine-gunner closed to women.

Jude Eden, a former Marine who served in combat in Fallujah, Iraq, 2005-06, spoke out regarding combat readiness. Eden said days before menstruation, a women loses some of her strength. This, she explained, can bring varying emotional "ups and downs" (PMS) and affect her judgment during that time.

Eden also addressed the problem of sexual contact, which has often led to pregnancy. Removing them from their position can destroy unit cohesion, she said.

When it comes to training, some women have proved they are tough enough to make the grade. Last month, the first three women to ever complete the United States Marine Corps' combat training course graduated from the School of Infantry in Camp Geiger, North Carolina. A report released earlier by the Marines, however, showed that mixed-gender combat units did not fare as well as all-male combat units. Carter, who never served in the military, said he interpreted the findings differently.

Although it's not clear what physical standards will apply for each combat position, one expert said it's unlikely there will ever be equal numbers of men and women in combat positions since men still have an edge when it comes to certain physical abilities.

On average, men are physically stronger than women. Men had an average of 26 pounds more skeletal muscle mass than women, and women exhibited about 40 percent less upper-body strength and 33 percent less lower-body strength, on average, according to a study by the Journal of Applied Physiology.

It was not surprising to learn from a study in the same journal that men on average had much stronger grips than women. Also, women can be more susceptible to stress fractures when weighed down under a load.

Over the past 14 years, thousands of women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and many, although not technically in combat roles, found themselves under fire.

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Jessica Lynch, then a 19-year-old supply clerk with the 507th Maintenance Company, became the first American woman POW after her convoy was attacked and she was severely wounded and captured by Iraqis near Nasiriyaha. Eleven of her comrades were killed, including her best friend, Lori Piestewa, the first female Native American to die on a foreign battlefield.

Twelve years later, Lynch continues to have rehab for the numerous bone-shattering injuries she suffered in the attack. Although Lynch was unconscious until she awoke in an Iraqi hospital, it was also reported that she was abused by her captors. Had she not been rescued from a hospital by our special forces, it's unfathomable how much more torture she would have had to endure.

The Pentagon and the White House have made it known that the new policy makes for a stronger military and that women deserve the right to move ahead in every opportunity.

There are others, however, like Congressman Duncan Hunter, a former Marine officer who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, who feel this was "a straight political decision."

We value the opinion of Eden, the Marine combat veteran, who says the top priority should be military readiness and winning wars, not political correctness and artificially imposed "equality" on the military.

Those who never experienced the horrors of front-line combat, yet are in favor of putting women in front-line close combat, should understand the consequences of their decision. Not only are they granting a woman's right, but they are allowing someone's daughter, sister, wife, mother or granddaughter an "equal opportunity" to be wounded, killed, tortured or abused as a POW.

By JIM ZBICK | tneditor@tnonline.com