Women in the military...

The phrase conjures up images of an overburdened female soldier-to me anyway. Observations throughout my 18 year career in the military illustrate a picture as such.

Fortunately, it also has afforded me see the picture's negative-that is, the other side of this phrase. Since my induction to the armed forces in 1987 until my discharge in 2006, I have seen the growth in potential and accomplishments in "fellow" female soldiers. My career field or specialty, was Security Forces, formally Security Police in the United States Air Force. The AF Specialty Code-Security Specialist-was only opened to females the year prior to my enlistment. Therefore, there weren't many senior female NCOs, or instructors at the school.

The female students who trained with me, displayed the "overburdened female" type, which became the stereotypical image for myself and other male airmen. We complained about their lower minimal standards required. We talked about "how much sick time?" they needed. Their constant "falling-out" of formation during a run, visiting the clinic for various maladies or perhaps a pregnancy tests, all became lunch-time fodder.

Of course "we" also administered bitter medicine to male trainees who didn't meet our standards. But toward the end of training-I started to realize a newfound respect for some female trainees. Their effort.
Their effort to succeed far surpassed those of the lesser capable of the males. I was willing to "give them a second chance" in my mind.

When I arrived at my installation, in the decisive times of the Cold War, and just previous to Desert Storm, my unit consisted of approximately 120 personnel. One hundred seventeen of them white male. In addition, one black male, one Native American male, and one black female named Winnie comprised our unit.

Winnie was unique-in a figurative and literal sense. Although she was a Law Enforcement Specialist and not a Security Specialist, she held her own. More than her own. Short in stature, but not in performance, Winnie deserved as much credit for her service as any other airmen I knew.

As I rose through the ranks to become a Squad Leader, Winnie was assigned to my crew. A lady old enough to be my mother was now on my team. Oh, how I dreaded it. Taking people to the woodshed because they used the "N word" around her (she didn't complain by the way). Sending patrols to help her complete some tasks, making runs to the store for her unsweetened lemon tea, making special arrangements for her vegetarian box lunches etc..etc..etc..

Now, for my point Of all the troops I supervised, over time about 30-40 airmen, Winnie was the ONLY one I could truly count on to complete her duties as required. If Winnie, said a building was secure, IT WAS SECURED. If Winnie was manning the Main Gate, no one entered the installation that wasn't permitted. NO ONE. While I "caught" about 75 percent of the airmen sleeping on post at one time or another, Winnie was never one of them. She was the epitome of reliability. She never called in sick, was never late, and always had all of her gear. I won't bore you further with her efforts compared to the males of her age group. But the males pale, figurative and literally again.

During my entire military career, any average female could have performed about 99 percent of the functions I was asked to perform. To exclude women from these roles would be remiss, in utilizing our nation's talents in the military. I do feel however, women in combat roles should be limited. But, if they are willing and can achieve the same standards as their male counterparts, they should be given the opportunity.

Learn more about this author, Soloman Samuel.
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