Seriously? Do we really think women are just now on the verge of entering combat roles?

Thank you for sharing this.

People let not confuse being in a Combat zone to being in the Combat arms. The Infantry, Armor and Field Artillery is no place for social experiments, this will not make us a more effective fighting force and it will cause a ton of problems. What's going to happen when the PC leaders don't get enough Woman in the Infantry and the few that make it will be on permanent profile after a few months or they will become pregnant. Remember Grunts didn't get pregnant before the social experiment. Lets not forget the claims of sexual harassment. Now what will happen when one of these Infantry girls claim harassment because the Platoon Sgt called her a "bitch", she might not understand that this is normal talk in an Infantry Platoon. Let the games begin. It want be long before the word gets out that the Infantry sucks and young men stop signing up for it. Now what? Morale is low and slots are not being filled, NCO's and Officers careers will be destroyed so someone can pretend to be something they never will be and that's one of the boys.

Unfortunately, we know that women have been there, but to civilians incidents like this are seen as an unfortunate circumstance of someone that should not even have been there. They make it the military's fault for putting women in harms way. Until the news of jobs for women in combat has officially spread, it is a taboo.
Im very happy that everyone here is so supportive of the subject. Ive had my toll with some Marines back in the day that didn't even think women(I) should even be in the military, and again, i had to prove myself by sending him to the hospital with a broken nose. (he assaulted me first)
So maybe the officiality of women in combat will finally stop us having to prove ourselves over and over again.

COL Charles Williams it is absolutely true that women have been serving in combat for the history of our country. Even when in "non-combatant" roles if one is under attack, one is then a combat soldier...

Re Ft McClellan, I hope you're healthy - Ft Mc has a huge history of toxic chemicals ala Camp Lejeune, but the government has not officially acknowledged this yet, or paid many claims on it...

PV2 Violet Case

Beautiful. Thank you.

Sir. Thank you for sharing this. I'm sorry for your loss. I wish I had words that would give you and her family comfort.

COL Charles Williams Sir, I wanted to thank you for sharing this. I took the liberty of sharing the article attached to the FB page I manage for VFW Post 9972 here in AZ. I think we have a few "Good old boys" at the V whom I think could benefit from a good wake up call. Again, thanks for sharing this and the story of your friend. Be well, and may you stay blessed! :)

While I do concur with some of the policy objectives advanced by the CMR, on this issue, they couldn't be more illogical or overtly emotional in their approach. To hear them tell it, these 144 Fallen Warriors, who just happen to be female, were involuntary victims of misguided policy decisions premised upon diversity and political correctness. Sadly, this plays well with the Conservative base that "supports the troops!" with lip service while lacking any true understanding or real connection with the Military. I know two women on this list. SPC Michelle Witmer was an MP assigned to the 32nd MP Company of the Wisconsin National Guard. She was killed in a firefight on 9 April 2004, earning the distinction of being the first-ever female National Guard Soldier killed in combat. As you read her name on this list, it makes note that SPC Witmer had two other sisters also in the Army. One of whom was with the 32nd in Iraq. These women were not victims! They were proud MPs and even though they were both given the option of one or the other staying with the rear-D, they would not hear of it. Their unit was mobilizing and deploying, and so were they!

The second Soldier I know on this list was my own Combat Medic, CPL Rachael L. Hugo, killed in an IED strike and SAF attack on 7 OCT 2007. As I type this, the sound of her memorial bracelet on my wrist occasionally clicks against the top of my laptop. CPL Hugo was an angel of mercy, both to my Soldiers when they were wounded as well as to the local Iraqi population she loved to interact with. If there was an opportunity to escape her normal duties at the Battalion Aid Station and mount up, she was all over it! It was on the return trip from one of these missions when the vehicle in which she was riding struck an IED, the blast ripping up and directly through the seat in which she was riding.

Civilians and armchair warriors can (and will) think what they want about women in combat, but if they think they are not already there they are late to the rodeo. But if they think of the women on this list as victims, and now seek to utilize this sacred roll to advance a political agenda, that makes them hypocrites and scum of the lowest garden variety!

Stand up and against this BS; don't let the names on this list become a chip in the poker game of politics!

I think people need to stop looking at gender. People need to look at the military for the uniform. I've worked in units with and without women, and have lead in those units as well. My theory on it was "We all wear the same uniform, so what one does, we all do." It worked, and I never had problems. If you meet the standard and can do the job, more power to you. Go get some.

COL Charles Williams
Questions like yours and the fact that some people don't think that women who serve(d) in the military are veterans blow my mind.

Thanks for sharing.