Argument: Some combat roles are better suited to women than men

Modern warfare involves many L.I.C.s, where the battleground is as much “hearts and minds” as it is physical combat. In a conflict where hearts and minds are important delicate handling of local people is required in order gain their support. In L.I.C.s, women are often better suited to intelligence gathering, medical assistance, policing and mediation than men. They are often perceived as less threatening and more understanding. [1] In addition, they would be better placed to deal with women in the local population.

For example, the job of many of the female U.S. marines killed and injured in June 2005 in Iraq was to search women for explosives at checkpoints to avoid the near-universal sense of humiliation engendered by a member of the opposite sex conducting an intimate bodily search. [2]

[1] DeGroot, Gerard J., ‘Women as Peacekeepers’, Toronto Star, 25 July 1999.

[2] Reuters, ‘The Female Fallen’, PTSD Support, Accessed June 2nd, 2011.

Candidate 1: "Women can carry out many of these tasks without serving in combat roles in the army.

For example, female medical staff or female military police can be sent to give medical assistance or conduct bodily searches. In both Iraq and Afghanistan, female U.S. military police officers have searched local women for explosives. [1]

If female soldiers are perceived as less threatening than male soldiers, there could potentially be worrying side effects such as a reduction in the deterrent effect of the military presence in an L.I.C.

[1] Schult, Marie, ‘Female Soldiers Assist with Cultural Sensitivities’, Defend America, March 2003."
Candidate 2: "There is a relatively higher female Injury rate

If militaries use gender-blind recruitment and training, women will suffer a high rate of injury as a result of physical differences. The standards of physical fitness have been set to suit men, and women attempting to reach them will over-stretch themselves. For example, when the U.K. military began using gender-blind training in the 1990s, the rate of medical discharge of female recruits jumped from 4.6% to 11.1%. [1]

In addition, regardless of recruitment and training standards, combat units engage in activities designed to suit men’s capabilities. Women serving in integrated units will suffer higher injury rates as a result of this. For example, armies march according to the male stride length of 45 cm, rather than the shorter female stride length of 38 cm. Women marching at the male pace are therefore at increased risk of stress fractures in pubic bones. [2]

[1] Gemmell, Ian M. M., ‘Injuries among female army recruits: a conflict of legislation’, Journal of The Royal Society of Medicine, Vol.95, No.1, January 2002, pp.23-27.

[2] ibid"
Candidate 3: "Battlefield Rape is a concern

A prevalent theme in many nationalist conflicts is both sides attempting to extinguish the bloodlines of the enemy culture. This ethnic cleansing often leads to systematic rape of women and mass murder of men. For example, in the Bosnian Wars of the early 1990s, systematic rape was carried out against all ethnic groups, but particular by ethnic Serbs against Bosnian Muslims. [1]

This could present a problem in the modern interventionist or peace-keeping activities of many military forces, third party combatants are often sent to the battlefields of conflicts that involve just this kind of ethnic cleansing. While it is unlikely that anything will happen to peacekeeping units if one side does turn on the peacekeepers it is likely that female soldiers will be treated the same as women from the enemy side if the rape mentality has been set in the minds of the soldiers.

[1] Osborn, Andrew, ‘Mass rape ruled a war crime’, The Guardian, 23 February 2001."
Candidate 4: "There are many conflicts which are not L.I.C.s.

Recent combat operations have had historically very low casualty rates, the wars that the United States has been fighting have been operations where the United States had vast technological superiority. There is no guarantee that this will always be the case, a conflict between nations with comparatively equal militaries would still have much more bloody combat operations."
Candidate 5: "If we use ‘gender-blind’ recruitment and training, some women will be able to meet the required standards, but most will not. The small number of suitable female candidates set against the additional logistical, regulatory and disciplinary costs associated with integrating them, mean that integration is not worthwhile.

For example, one test of American army officer candidates showed that "only one woman out of 100 could meet a physical standard achieved by 60 out of 100 men” [1]

Some roles such as those of sniper and combat aviator clearly require less physical strength than most active combat roles. Many tasks that combat soldiers must accomplish require high muscle density, which women do not naturally possess. [2] Examples would include carrying a wounded soldier, throwing grenades or digging a trench in hard terrain.

Older and more senior soldiers make up for their reduced physical strength with an increased amount of experience. The same cannot be said for new female recruits.

[1] Gerber, Bradley, ‘Women in the Military and Combat’, Family Problems and Social Change, 1998, Accessed on June 2nd, 2011

[2] ‘Israeli women won’t see combat’, WND, 20 October 2003."
Candidate 6: "Pregnancy affects military readiness

Women who become pregnant are not available to be deployed into warzones. This reduces military readiness. Additionally, pregnancy means that women need to take time off work, which can have worse effects in military units than any other workplace. [1] This effect has been observed in army and navy forces in the past. An increased number of women in the military would make the problem worse. [2] In 1985 up to 10% of active duty women personnel in the US armed forces were unavailable for call-up and duty due to pregnancy. [3]

Pregnancy could potentially be a means of avoiding call-up. This is likely with national guard soldiers, who are usually permanently stationed at home and often build lives and families there, not expecting to be deployed abroad. This tactic was used during the Vietnam war by some men. In 1965, the decision to expand the military draft to include married men without children was made. [4]

[1] ‘Sexes: The Military Is Pregnant’, Time, 8 October 1979.

[2] Harrell, Margaret C., and Miller, Laura L., ‘New Opportunities for Military Women’, RAND, 1997.

[3] UPI, ‘10% of Army Women Pregnant at Any Time’, The New York Times, 7 July 1985.

[4] Seelye, Katharine Q., ‘Cheney’s Five Draft Deferments During the Vietnam Era Emerge as a Campaign Issue’, The New York Times, 1 May 2004."
Candidate 7: "There is no immediate pressing need for an increased pool of recruits for the army in developed countries. The late-2000s recession has led to an increase in military recruitment; particularly in the U.S. [1] This is as a result of there being many more people searching for work which makes the military a relatively more attractive career.

The number of recruits and their talent pool can also be increased in other ways. For example military service can be better promoted and greater incentives to enlist can be offered.

For example, educational funding provided to U.S. army veterans under the post-9/11 G.I. bill is a major incentive which has increased recruit numbers in recent decades. [2]

[1] Bender, Bryan, ‘Down economy boosts military’, The Boston Globe, 1 March 2009.

[2] ‘G.I. Bill’, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Accessed June 2nd, 2011"
Candidate 8: "Female P.O.W.s (prisoners of war) are a liability

In wars, soldiers are often captured and become P.O.W.s. Male P.O.W.s are sometimes tortured or raped. Many societies around the world value women less than men. This misogyny may make female soldiers more likely to be tortured or in particular raped than male soldiers if they are captured. [1] At the same time this threat or reality may lead male soldiers, captured alongside female soldiers, to crack more easily under interrogation. [2]

Female P.O.W.s are also more likely than male P.O.W.s to be used in propaganda campaigns at home. This may have an effect on the nation’s commitment to the war effort. For example, the story of Jessica Lynch, an American marine captured in Iraq, was widely reported in the American media, affecting national morale. The media paid little attention to the male soldiers captured at the same time. [3]

[1] Cook, Gretchen, ‘POWs likely to endure sexual assault’, Women’s Enews, 2002.

‘Women in Combat Frequently Asked Questions’, Center for Military Readiness, 22 November 2004.

[2] Brown, Steve, ‘Female POWs Spark Calls to Reassess Military Role for Women’, CNSNews, 4 April 2003, Accessed June 3rd, 2011

[3] Lynne, Diana, ‘Spin behind Jessica Lynch story?’, WND, 6 May 2003."
Candidate 9: "This does not mean that women should have to serve in combat. The alternative is that it is possible to change the promotion policies in armies to give women a fair chance at career advancement. Men and women are both given opportunities to join the army, but with the understanding that different roles require different physical, emotional attributes. This should mean in turn that there are multiple routes to promotion so that women have equal opportunities without having to fight take part in combat operations."
Candidate 10: "Integrating women into male combat units can cause men to behave badly

Many men who join the army maintain traditional gender roles. This may lead them to act foolishly to protect women in their combat units, endangering themselves and everyone else in the unit. In a recent review on the possible introduction of mixed-gender combat units, the British Ministry of Defense cited this as an issue. [1]

At the same time, the sudden presence of women in a masculine subculture, can lead to resentment and incidents of abuse. Sexual harassment and assault may become more prevalent. Any bad male behavior will create tensions, affect morale and weaken the military.

For example, at the three US service academies, one in seven women report being sexually assaulted, and half have been sexually harassed. [2] Integrating into combat unites is not likely to help these statistics.

[1] Norton-Taylor, Richard, ‘Women still banned from combat roles after Ministry of Defence review’, guardian.co.uk, 29 November 2010.

[2] ‘One in Seven Attending Military Academies Report Being Sexually Assaulted’, Feminist Majority Foundation, 21 March 2005."

Women can carry out many of these tasks without serving in combat roles in the army.

For example, female medical staff or female military police can be sent to give medical assistance or conduct bodily searches. In both Iraq and Afghanistan, female U.S. military police officers have searched local women for explosives. [1]

If female soldiers are perceived as less threatening than male soldiers, there could potentially be worrying side effects such as a reduction in the deterrent effect of the military presence in an L.I.C.

[1] Schult, Marie, ‘Female Soldiers Assist with Cultural Sensitivities’, Defend America, March 2003.
