Letter to the Editor: Women in combat
BY Jonathan Colburn, Tulsa
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
1/30/13 at 7:41 AM
After retiring from the U.S. Army, with many years as a non-commissioned officer, and having worked with and for many professional female soldiers, I reacted with mixed emotions regarding the Pentagon's announcement to open up tens of thousands of combat positions to females.
While most Americans remain unaware that men and women have different physical fitness standards to comply with, there are some females, albeit a few who can indeed match their male counterparts.
Should those few females be allowed to try out for combat specialists? Perhaps. Questions might then arise about the dynamics involved with mixing men and women together in sustained combat operations, with those who decry such integrations and others who might champion such conditions.
The argument for or against such changes in policies could go on for days, accompanied with merited praise for the women serving our great country in uniform. But the one real question concerning any such change in policy should be: Will a greater role for women in combat positions benefit our fighting forces?
I believe the answer is fairly obvious. No.
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