Originally Posted by Slipped Mickey
Originally Posted by Mellowicious
Thanks, Phil - I always get it wrong, every time, thinking (incorrectly) "gender NOUNS, sex HUMANS" My apologies. Gender it is from here on out.

Redheat, I understand the point you are making, but to say that women shouldn't be drafted because of the danger of rape has a real flaw.

The Army has soldiers who are a danger to other soldiers. The Army needs to solve that problem. The female soldiers here are not the problem; the soldiers who are also rapists are the problem.

I have read a great deal about the problems some of our (female) soldiers have faced: sexual harassment, assault, and rape. But again, the Army (and other branches of the service) need to deal with that, not by removing the good soldier, but by removing the bad one.

Give the U.S. military credit. They are the best trained in the world, ever in the history of the world. Compared to most of the world's military forces all U.S. forces are elite. Head and shoulders better than most. They are well trained. You cannot be as disciplined and dedicated and have many rotten apples. Can't happen.

If you could spend a week with these men and women, even stateside, you'd be absolutely amazed at the jobs they do almost flawlessly. I'm serious. You have no idea what an 18 or 19 year old member of the U.S. Armed Forces is capable of doing - and does - 24/7. The responsibility some of these young troops are routinely given would blow your mind. And they do it well.

At times it breaks my heart when I think of their sacrifices, what their government asks them to do again and again and again when I know first hand how they will be treated when they come home. They still get spit on by America. Yep. Where are the protesters demanding for better pay and healthcare and treatment of our military and their families and veterans? Most of the yellow flag sticker patriots have long since abandoned these most worthy Americans.

Imagine going to a war you don't agree with and doing things you don't believe are in the best interest of any nation. These guys do it and they do it damned well.

I think the military works hard at removing the bad apples, but you can't do it before the fact any better than you can do it in civilian life. At the same time it's difficult to create a warrior attitude and remove the ones who appear too warrior.

In Vietnam I saw or knew of guys who did stuff I couldn't believe. Bad stuff. Some of it involved Vietnamese women. We policed our own. Problem is a lot of those guys were fine up to the point that they weren't fine. Extreme, prolonged stress does that to people.

Women in combat support units in Iraq has to be an added hassle most CO's would rather not have to deal with. I'd imagine that all things being equal it's bad for morale as well. But all this assumes that having women serving in combat support or combat units is acceptable. If you don't have women there then rape and sexual harassment and sexism isn't an issue.

Women can't train like men and they shouldn't train with them, ergo they shouldn't serve with them in combat.

Baloney. It seems that you prefer to punish the victims and NOT the wrongdoer. If men are that unstable under combat conditions, then maybe it's the MEN that need to get out and play the subservient role in the military. A lot of this happens to stem from the way male soldiers cover for each other, kinda like the "Blue Shield" wall of silence crap in law enforcement. War is Hell and why should women have to take a backseat because these fragile-minded men can't handle it?

I think that 99% of ALL military personnel(of both genders) do an excellent job, for which they are highly under-appreciated. And yes, there are always going to be the a$$holes whom never should have been allowed in the first place. But guess what? We have them here in our own streets doing these very horrible acts-There are some parts of America's inner cities that you can't pass through without being in eminent danger of gunshots or worse. Men, women and children already live this, not just for a few tours of duty, but every day for years. They have already been raised in combat zone.

Last edited by Scoutgal; 03/05/08 11:55 PM.
milk and Girl Scout cookies ;-)

Save your breath-You may need it to blow up your date.