Women in Combat Arms: A Study of the Global War on Terror
Abstract
The recent institutionalization of women in combat reignites a long-standing debate on their roles in the military, a debate that elicits emotionally charged responses from proponents and critics alike. While much of the current discourse concerns hypothetical discussions of women in direct combat, there is a population of female soldiers who have contributed as front line "trigger pullers" throughout the past 12 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. These women are Army aviators who have served in attack aviation roles, without restriction, since the beginning of major combat operations in the Global War on Terrorism. Given the significant implications of the political, social, cultural, and economic ramifications of women in combat, this paper synthesizes historical evidence and statistical data on female pilots' performance within attack aviation over the span of the past two conflicts in the Middle East. The research shows that after a decade of war, there is no significant stigma nor other prohibitive factors that degrade the effectiveness or lethality of attack aviation units in combat when females serve on the front lines alongside their male counterparts.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 23, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA589618
Entities
People
- Seneca Pena-collazo
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College