Women in Combat: The Operational Impact of Meeting A National Security Necessity
Abstract
Rescinding the combat exclusion statutes and policies has gone beyond the issue of equal rights and stunted female career progression. Based on demographic forecasts of a shrinking youthful manpower pool and the operational ambiguities caused by deploying integral noncombatant service women in the changing battlefield, placing women in combat has become a matter of sustained military readiness and national security. Three specific detractors most voiced in opposition to lifting the ban are possible degradation of combat unit integrity, specifically in regards to perceived limitations of physical strength and emotional stamina and impaired male-bonding; United States public opinion; and the perceptions of America's allies and adversaries; specifically the USSR, NATO, and Arab nations. This paper provides a brief historical overview of American women in the military, elaborates on the main thesis points of demographics and noncombatants in the changing scenario of combat, and provides the arguments on both sides of the three main concerns confronting the full integration of women in the military with some basic recommendations for effecting change.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 11, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA236555
Entities
People
- Linda J. Fraser Andrews
Organizations
- Naval War College