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| Yes | 52% | 286 votes | Total: 548 votes | |
| No | 48% | 262 votes |
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Add to FavoritesEqual rights and freedoms should always mean equal responsibility to defend those rights and freedoms. If the Unites states revises comprehensive military services for its eligible citizens, then all eligible citizens by definition includes women.
Military service can be done in two ways: a military draft in response to an attack or a imminent threat to our national security, an allies' security, or international security, or it can be national service as part of the basic responsibilities of all citizens.
The United States has generally imposed drafts in time of war, while other nations have chosen a national service model that requires all citizens to serve.
Other nations also have a long history of employing women in the ranks, especially in times of war. Some of the most highly decorated soldiers in World War II were Russian women. In World War II US women, will not official in combat roles, were under fire in war zones across the world. Other nations have also had women fill vital roles in combat operations.
In the event of a national or national or international emergency serious enough to institute a draft , the United States would need all its citizens to effectively fight and win, particularly given the long range planning and duties required to execute modern combat missions.
Disqualifying over 50% of your potential effective force because of an old boy network mentality and faulty/slanted arguments put out by right-wing organizations like the Heritage Foundation is short-sighted and stresses our current combat capacities to the limits.
A reality that must be faced is that, like in World War II, American women are already under fire in combat situations and under threat from terrorism, both domestic and foreign, on the homefront. No matter what branch of the military they are in women work side by side with men in all military activities so that the argument against women in combat is more a point of finery than a policy reality.
Women have long recognized that equal rights means equal responsibility, and so want the expectation of fully the rewards and risks of defending those rights. Science has provided proof that the old arguments about the weaker sex, a linchpin of the old boy system's repression of female rights, is no longer valid.
Whenever they have been challenged and allowed to meet that challenge, women have done so, proving themselves as capable (if not more so in some areas) as men intellectually, emotionally and financially.
The one question that is still called into question is physical strength. While most women may not have the same ability to lift or move objects as men (and even this is changing), many women have shown that they have more endurance and can endure more extreme conditions than many men.
This has been confirmed by my contacts in the National Guard, and demonstrates that many women are are physically fit enough to participate in combat duties.
Women in all walks of life have proved themselves to be leaders. They have proved themselves to be courageous, innovative, resourceful, and determined in the face of adversity. These are the characteristics of a good soldier, one who is more than capable of contributing to the defense of our country in times of need.
Denying them the opportunity they seek and fully deserve is an injustice, and a blatant attempt to perpetuate the antiquated ideology of a woman's place in service of fearful men who think they will be somehow be diminished if women are fully involved in our society.
And, more importantly, it is a betrayal of the principles that this country was founded on, which is best summarized in the phrase We, the people... meaning all people, not just men, are expected in the risks and rewards of defending our freedoms.
Learn more about this author, Rob O'Hannon.
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No
The military draft is a highly debated and hotly protested subject in a country whose military strength relies on a strictly volunteer force. In our culture of fierce individualism and self government, the right to choose what we will do with our bodies and our lives is an essential, tightly held principle. The very concept of a draft grates on the freedom we hold dear, yet, we know that in extreme circumstances where a threat to our security and our way of life cannot be dealt with our current military, a draft maybe a necessary measure, if not the only way, to secure our future. Traditionally, a military draft consists of all eligible young male citizens of a country being called to serve. However, due to our current culture of gender equality and equal standing of men and women in our society, a pressing question has arose. If a draft were invoked, should our young women be required to serve as well?
Women have the same citizenship rights as any man, and have proven that they are capable of making a valuable contribution to our government. It has been argued, if an individual can vote, so shouldn't they be required to fulfill the undesirable responsibilities of citizenship as well, like a draft? The problems with this logic are numerous. We aren't discussing whether women should be required to report for jury duty, or whether they should stand trial under the same laws as men, we are talking about a task that requires a high level of physical stamina that is often beyond the average citizen's ability to attain. But, you may say, there is no assurance that all men who are drafted will become able soldiers, nor is there any proof that women don't make good soldiers.
Although many women have achieved mental and financial equality with men, we have never been able to change the biological reality of our species. Women are fundamentally different in structure than men and cannot compare in physical competition. As a woman who has served in the military, I can testify to this fact. I have dealt with the physical and emotional challenges that come with being a soldier,* and no matter how hard I trained, or how hard I pushed myself, I was never able to match the physical capabilities of my male counterparts. Therefore, being a female soldier requires an extra level of dedication and fortitude to simply overcome the physical demands. At the end of the day, you are much more likely to be able to take the average American male and train him to the level of physical ability necessary to survive and succeed in a combat environment in a short amount of time than the average female. In addition, even when women are trained to the highest level of combat readiness possible, in a true combat situation, when pitted against a male adversary, most, if not all, female soldiers will lose a hand-to-hand fight. Which leads us to the second argument-much of our military force is composed of support personnel, who, under ideal circumstances, never set foot in a combat situation, and there is no reason why a drafted woman would not be able to fill these positions instead of a direct combat role.
So what, then, is the problem with drafting women as well as men?
Quite simply, there are no guarantees in a war zone. Recent history has proven that the enemy does not differentiate between infantryman or surgeon, and though you may enter a war as a engineer or a nurse or a supply clerk, ultimately, (especially during a crisis so drastic that it calls for a draft), every service member must be prepared for the worse case scenario of war- combat.
*I use the term soldier generically throughout this article to refer to both soldiers, airmen, marines, and sailors.
Learn more about this author, Alison Jerabek.
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