Did you know 6 women fought in direct combat in Iraq And Afghanistan?

LCDR (Join to see), Correct Sir. They perform well and sometimes better than their counterparts. The Red Cross women, better known as donut dollies, went out in the combat areas all the time without any fear at all. All they wanted to do was cheer up the men. They had no weapons, unless you want to call c
Donuts and cookies weapons.

SGT (Join to see) Donuts and Cookies are part of the axis of evil that comprise my expanding waistline.

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca, My intent asking this question was to remind some of the men in RP, who constantly complain about women in the military, that there are those involved in direct combat situations and perform their jobs as good as a man could.

SGT (Join to see) I'll go one step further and say "better" in some cases. I've seen some "tough" men turn to Jell-O at the crack of an AK-47 round.

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca, Are those men still alive, or still in the military? Most times there isn't any time to stop and shake them out of their fear. That happened in Nam. You could tell right away. They usually have peed on themselves or have a bowel movement, and are frozen.

PFC (Join to see), If you can't understand why these women are in an article about their bravery, no need in me trying to explain it to you. You rattle on about how it isn't a big deal, then in your last paragraph you say, "not to take anything away from these women." You're entire rant doesn't make any sense to me. Tell me, when's the last time you faced living or dying, and did your job anyway. I ask because you have no information about yourself. You may not even be in the service. You may be one of those who get on RP just to troll and see who you can piss off. I'm not pissed, and I don't think you know what you're talking about.

SGT (Join to see) - Actually, I am just very secure about my personal information...ya know, after all the hacking going on that involves people with security clearances, Ashley Madison, Daesh threatening service members etc. All examples of why you don't put any personal information on a social media website...ever. So all I will say is that I have room to talk on this subject, more so than you I'd wager. I apologize for what it is, trying to counter an argument with a faceless entity is unfair. However, I do know what I am talking about and that "rant" wasn't something I pulled from my 4th point of contact.

The point is, the article selected these women to imply that their individual actions are "normal". They in fact are not. They are extreme representations of what women do in combat. Every circumstance described, minus the OH-58 pilot, involved situations where the contact was accidental. They (the women) only got involved by pure accident...this happens in combat.

I get it, you want to be "Politically Correct". You want to portray yourself as a new age NCO who fully embraces the current political agenda. You will go far with that mindset. The reality is, that mindset will only serve to fill body bags faster. Trust me, I've had the unfortunate experience to be involved with the CST program.

Wars are won not by those who are fair, they are won by those who bring enough brute strength, materials, and the sheer dedication to win no matter what. Allowing women to serve in units that regularly participate in front line combat is nonsensical. You would have a hard enough time justifying the expense of wasted training slots to produce one female who could perform intellectually and PHYSICALLY in a standard Infantry unit. These standards are exponentially harder as you climb the tiers in SOF units. These SOF units screen thousands of men to fill a few hundred slot. You would have to screen 10s of thousands of women to do the same.

Bottom line, the effort is not worth it if you want to win. Say all you want about Israel or France using women in Combat Arms units...the truth is they don't serve on front line units. They serve as instructors or fill admin jobs, they don't fight.

You don't need to tell me anything about combat. I was there long before you were probably born. You have your opinion l I have mine. Let it go at that.

SGT (Join to see) - I absolutely can tell you about combat. Also it is impressive you served in Vietnam. My hat is off to you. I don't know many 70 year old veterans with your grasp of social media.