Research Log 5 Women in the Military

 "Debate: Women in the Military?." Conservapedia. N.p., May 25, 2011. Web. 27 Mar 2012. <http://www.conservapedia.com/Debate:Women_in_the_Military?>.





Summary:  Women in the Military is currently a major issue being debated in politics every year.  It is estimated that it takes eight people in supply to keep one man out in combat. Also, there are some jobs that by their nature are better suited to the female's mind, such as Air Traffic Controlman. I suppose it's pretty obvious where I come down on this issue.  Women should not be in combat or combat support, where there at risk of being captured or killed by the enemy. Male soldiers will, by nature, want to rescue them from danger, even at the cost of neglected strategically more important missions.  For women being in the military however, the other side can be seen to it as well.  Men will and have the tendency to pull the trigger on a women or leave a women behind because they are seen as less important than the superior man in that situation.  No one wants a mission compromised because the men felt more obligated to save a woman than to complete the mission.  To mention, one of the objections is that women don't have the upper body strength to lug an overloaded pack into combat. Well, this is the 21st Century, and no one should be lugging the kinds of packs they've made them lug around since World War One. Someone's got to lay that misguided tradition to rest. We've got Stryker brigades and armored humvees, you live in your vehicle and get out now and then lay some hurt on the enemy.  You get women ready for that part by making the same physical test requirements for both genders because everyone is considered at an equal playing field.


Response:  To tell you the truth I don't care who is in the military as long as they get the job done. But if they can't, man or woman, they should not be there. Fact is women are in the military. They just aren't specifically put in positions where they might see offensive combat. However, without front lines and with terrorists hitting support troops, women are in units more likely to be attacked. Personally, I have never heard of a task that women could not accomplish. My opinion is about the draft is if women are going to be in the military (and even run for president) they should be registered for the draft just like every man between 18 and 45. We haven't used it in 40 years and more than half of all 18 year old males would not be fit right if we did, but women should be registered just like men. I don't think it will ever happen though because there's no political benefit to it.

Next Steps:  I chose to end my paper about the debate for and against women in combat because it is a major issue that is being debated as we speak.  Nothing however, has been done stating that women cannot be allowed in the military anymore.  I do not believe anything will ever happen regarding that, but many people debate against women in the military.  From here, I will conclude my paper referring to the central topic of women in the military pro and cons.  

Research Log 4 Women in the Military

Weinstein, Laurie. Gender Camouflage . New York: New 

           York University, 19

Summary:  Women are constantly affecting the military as to how it is ran.  Women not only involved in the military, but are wives of their husbands enlisted. This can cause major problems as to how men operate emotionally due to the length of time away from a loved one.  Rape rises and sexual assaults are through the roof when this detachment is happening.  One of the most important actions to focus attention on military wives' issues was the advent in 1980.  The FAC group and its actions brought military-family issues to the attention of the military.  Their slogan was, "We recruit soldiers; but we retain families."  As a result of emphasis on the families, the different services established 218 centers designed to alleviate the stresses of military life (Weinstein 122).  The centers offer financial, relocation, career, mental health, outreach, and education services at no charge.  By the mid 80's, military spouses created the Military Spouses and Professional Association to help women find jobs when they relocated.  Moving on however, Cynthia Enloe contends that "without women to objectify, men's military service would be less confirming of their manhood, perhaps even of their citizenship, and militarized masculinity depends in large measure on esteem derived from men's sense of manliness."  With the increase in the number women entering the military, the myth of male superiority is hard to maintain when military men are forced to work alongside, or for military females.  Even though incidents of domestic violence are prevalent throughout all branches of services, they receive little attention inside or outside the military community.  Military wives also include in this, where their homes are as dangerous as the battlefield of domestic violence.  For instance, "A soldier in Washington state killed his wife, packed her body into a suitcase, and threw it off a bridge. (Weinstein 123).  So overall, we can find good and bad about military wives for what they have done as apart of the military inside and outside the military.

Response:  The publics lack of knowledge about military culture allowed the military to maintain the traditional role of the military wife well beyond the time when women in the larger society were expanding their professional horizons.  Through the 90's, civilian sisters were renegotiating their volunteer labor for the benefit of the military, usually against their will.  The military wives though, continued to raise considerable funds to benefit the military community.  I believe military wives are not dependents, but women able to jump outside the system and speak military requirements that control their lives.  I like how women were and are able to create these systems to help military wives and husbands involved.  The services seem to have helped thousands of families over the years and will hopefully continue to grow in a positive direction.  

Next Steps:  I chose this particular topic about military wives because I feel that it reflects what is a major issue in the military.  That issue is something citizens of the U.S are not aware of as far as the families that are involved with the military.  Problems are constantly arising for families involved and help in any form is always a necessity.  Whether it be other families helping each other in the military or your average family with no involvement at all, everyone and anyone can reach out to support or families of service.  From here, I will conclude with the major concernment of women in the military as of issues pertaining too right now.  This will top off the paper from start to finish.  

Research Log 3 Women in the Military

Weinstein, Laurie. Gender Camouflage . New York: New 
           York University, 1999.


Summary:  Physical training has proven most perplexing and the most difficult for gender integration.  The service academies have learned to accommodate the physiological differences of men and women, but this has not led to women's acceptance by male cadets.  When women first came to service, there was little data on what women athletes in top shape should be able to do.  Even today, with much higher standards demanded on women, female cadets develop their physical abilities to a greater extent than do the males during training.  The physical education instructors set a lower standard, which would allow more women to pass the initial tests and then gain confidence as the standard would increase each year.  However, all the academies failed to convince the male cadets that the standards set for women required the same effort/ability by women that the standards set for men required of men.  So, the concept of equal effort is still not accepted by most male cadets, because physical prowess is given great weight in the formula for success as a leader.  That means even outstanding women with high physical ability will never rank higher than men as leaders and will remain inferior.  


Response:  If the military would reexamine its requirements and recognize that running, push-ups, and sit-ups are not the best measures of an overall physically fit person, then perhaps this major barrier to gender integration can start to be eroded.  If fitness and wellness is a goal, then aerobic and anaerobic tests should be added to the strength tests; this will level the playing field for men and women.  For example, when male cadets came to the female aerobics they were dying before the class was officially over for the day (Weinstein 72).  Deciding what equal effort is and educating all cadets on the differences between strength and fitness/wellness and job requirements remains a major challenge at all the academies and in the military in general.  Until women can be seen as competitive in the physical arena, they will never be seen as equals.  Because women enter the military with varsity athletic experiences, the minimum standards for women will continue to climb. However, there will always be a marked difference between men's and women's physical abilities in the tests as they are currently constructed (Weinstein 72). 


Next Steps:  I chose this particular section in the book because it really shows the true grit of differences between men and women in the military.  A lot of physical ability is tested in combat everyday and that is where women tend to be seen as inferior as opposed to men.  Leaders and combatants should be seen as strong and physically fit in order to get what needs to be done, done. From here, I will progress into the military and how they deal with the wives in and out of service and how that reflects on the aspect of the debate for women in combat. 

Research Blog 2 Women in the Military

DeBatto, David. "The Young and the Restless." CI 
            Advisor. (2004): 1. Print.


Summary:  This article portrays the deep truth inside the military lives of men and women.  Most men and women are in their late teens to early twenties and are "hormone-charged." Sexual assaults are among the most common problem when these two genders are living together 24/7.  The men and women of the military share living situations at the end of the day.  Showers, bathrooms, and sleeping are all done in a gender-neutral formality, so privacy is basically non existent. Rape is a violent, angry crime that is very consistent. Numerous situations come about where young, physically strong male service members are serving in high-stress environments, day in and day out. They are away from home, possibly for the first time. Some of them are also scared, lonely, depressed and exhibiting other mental health issues. Many of them are also extremely immature. This calls for prime sexual assault cases which are most likely  happening everyday.  

Response:  I have a cousin that was in the military deployed to Afghanistan in 2005.  He however is 30 years old.  When he came home, he actually noted that their were major difficulties with the young men of the military because they are not use to the fact that they can't go around having sex like they did at home.  Also, many of these men have girlfriends and boyfriends and they are not use to the long separation.  This in turn, resorts to the many violent rape cases found over seas. I believe it is just human nature and there really is nothing you can do when your hormones are raging. So overall I personally think the military should strengthen its programs that advise military recruits of the consequences of their sexual assault when they enter service, and it would be well-advised to consider some form of in-theater refresher briefings for deployed troops. The military should, and hopefully will, aggressively investigate and prosecute all allegations of rape and sexual assault that surface. 

Next Steps:  I chose this source because I figured I needed a more recent source from my last one.  This particular source is six years newer than that of my last one.  Also, this source was an article rather than information from a book which gave it a different approach.  I liked how this was about just one particular topic rather than an introduction to many different topics, as you would find in a book.  My first blog was more of an introduction to my research topic, stating basically what my topic is and why it is relevant to our world today.   This topic however, allows me to begin with a serious problem allowing women in the military and the serious reality that is present.  From here, I could begin to talk about the psychological factors of women in the military and how they differ from that of men.  This will begin the juicy part as to conflict of why women should be placed in combat.

Research Log 1 Women in Military

Francine, D'Amico. Gender Camouflage. New York: New
            York University Press, 1999. Print.


Summary:  Our nation continues to debate whether women should be in war, whether their presence inhibits men from carrying out their mission, whether the American public can withstand women's return in body bags and whether women can handle lack of privacy, being surrounded by violent deaths, or being prisoners of war. People aren't paying attention to history, or history is paying attention to itself, because these issues and questions have been answered by the experiences of thousands of women who have once served as those first military nurses starting with the Revolutionary War.  


Response:  When the Revolutionary War began, General George Washington asked that one female nurse be employed for every ten patients to relieve men for battle.  Surgeon's mates whom were usually men, performed skilled nursing tasks, and female nurses emptied chamber pots and cleaned wards and patients, although they occasionally gave medication or assisted with healthy diets for the soldiers.  Americans believed the appropriate role for women was domestic, and this is reflected in author Fanny Kemble’s journal entry in the late 1830s: “Maids must be wives and mothers to fulfill the entire and holiest end of woman’s being.”  I completely agree with the role women use to have in the military.  People adapt to what society perceives them, where this specific example is demonstrating exactly what society thinks women should do. Society also prepares women to become these caregiving phenom's with propaganda and even forceful action pertaining to the law.  There is nothing women can really do, but obey and become, so that is how their place in the military was first originated.  


Next Step:  I chose this specific source out of three different books.  I thought this particular source was laid out much more clearly with headings rather than run on text. It guided me through an introduction of the section and laid out what it was going to pin point which helped me gather information much quicker.  Also, it really demonstrates and proves where women first started out in the military and why women began this way.  After reading this source, I would really like to get into the how the shift went from women being allowed in the military as nurses to women in combat and where and when this switch took place.  This will hopefully better my understanding as to why women are in combat today and what issues we have with them in combat today.  This will then set the basis for my research allowing me to branch off for other issues with women in combat.