by Kimberly Wolf

Created on: September 22, 2008   Last Updated: September 26, 2008

There has been a lot of speculation as to whether women should be on the front lines or not. The fact is, women have already been there and endured. As a combat veteran of the United States Marine Corps, I served alongside my fellow Marines during the invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003. Before I share my opinions and experiences, I feel the need to clarify a few things concerning women and warfare.

To start, war is no longer fought "Braveheart-style" with opposing sides running at eachother ready to beat one another to death. Since the need to physically overpower an opponent is practically extinct,the much debated issue of the lack of physical strength of women compared to men is a needless arguement. An M-16 A2 Service Rifle with a 30 round magazine inserted weighs 8.79 pounds and a heavy automatic weapon such as the M-19 or 50 Cal are mounted weapons, requiring only the strength to insert a round into the chamber and press down on the trigger. I can assure you that while most women cannot bench 200+ pounds, we can handle at least 8.79.

When most people mention the phrase "front lines", they assume that is the only hazardous place. While the infantry troops are usually the first to see combat, they certainly aren't the only ones. Convoys were often under attack which as a military police officer (MP), we are tasked to protect them. Is it not just as dangerous being fired at behind the infantry as it is next to them? There are no lines drawn in warfare to let you know where is hazardous and which place is safe.At war in a hostile country, nowhere is safe.

Another largely debated issue is that of women being prone to sexual assault if they become a prisoner of war. Do men honestly think that they are safe from this fate? It is a reasonable fear for both women and men and they should take into account the risk of what can happen before they sign the dotted line to join the service.

MARINE TRAINING

While I cannot speak for other branches of service, I'll provide a brief background of my training in the Marine Corps. In boot camp, men and women are trained separately to prevent any distraction from the training. Although separated, the training is identical. We carry the same amount of weight on our backs during marches, taught the same martial arts tecniques, and are taught how to fire the same rifles in the same manner. The same morals, bearing, and pride are instilled in both genders and do equal work to earn the same title of U.S. Marine.

After boot camp, provided

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