Women make excellent soldiers. The German Wehrmacht invading the Soviet Union 1941-1945 encountered integrated Soviet Army units who fought fiercely and well, women had equal status along with their male colleagues. Women snipers were used effectively and were excellent shots. A German platoon was disappeared as each section sought out missing personnel, women were effectively deployed as stalkers.

The U.S. military, after many sex scandals in the 1990's has attempted to become more sensitive to the presence of women especially as they represent 15% of ranks worldwide. There are mandatory workshops on preventing sexual harassment and assault. each battalion has a representative trained to respond to complaints. There are still many reported incidents. The U.S. Department of Defense established a Sexual Assault Prevention and Response programme in 2005, as a result the number of reported assaults increased by 40%. Statistics in 2004 and 2005 confirm that less than 10% resulted in the court martial of the perpertrator.

The deployment of U.S. National Guard units for active service in Iraq has caused huge stresses for married women with children. The agonising stresses of leaving young children behind coupled with convoy driving between Iraq and Kuwait and encountering ambushes set by improvised explosive ordnance could lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the travails of sexual harassment has been well documented. Women often have to deal with these traumas on return home on their own. This should be recognised and the U.S. Veterans Administration should recognise that women serving overseas must be treated in a considerate manner.

Women entering a man's world cannot change everything to suit the 15%, the majority
of men, the 85%, determine the daily rules. Time will ensure integrated units will function well, women will endure.

The recent capture of British military personnel in the Shatt-al-Arab with one female highlighted the perils of deploying women in war zones. The one woman wearing a scarf was filmed smoking, this was the only danger she faced -lung cancer- the Iranians publicly ridiculed the British Government for almost two weeks. Two years previously a number of British sailors were captured and released, there was no female to exploit.

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