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| US servicewomen challenge combat role ban | ||
| 2012-11-28 | ||
| The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a challenge on behalf of four US servicewomen against a ban on women being deployed in most combat roles. The lawsuit filed in a federal court in San Francisco argues that the policy is unconstitutional. Women can serve in front line positions in the US military, but they are barred from ground combat units. A Pentagon spokesman said 14,500 combat positions had been opened to women under the current defence secretary. He added that Defence Secretary Leon Panetta had "directed the services to explore the possibility of opening additional roles for women in the military". But ACLU lawyer Ariela Migdal said the changes so far were "not enough". The lawsuit argues that continuing restrictions violate servicewomen's constitutional rights to equality.
"The military is the last place where you are allowed to be discriminated against because of your gender," she said.
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| Posted by:tipper |
| #8 Really this is about female officers getting their "ticket punched" so they can be promoted more readily. Historically, women have been used in combat units in the past (e.g. Soviet and Israeli armies). These experiments have been walked back once the war is over. There is a use for women in hearts and minds operations in Muslim countries. There women can deal with women and men with men. However this is best handled with a detachment of specialists. Al |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2012-11-28 11:13 |
| #7 cant see them doing well in hand to hand encounters though. I'm sure they got plenty of experience with the teen-age boys as they were growing up; they'd do fine. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2012-11-28 10:15 |
| #6 they'll water down the PT requirements |
| Posted by: Frank G 2012-11-28 10:13 |
| #5 cant see them doing well in hand to hand encounters though. |
| Posted by: bigjim-CA 2012-11-28 09:12 |
| #4 How does Israel handle this? They seem to have a system that works, I see Israeli babes with guns in a lot of pictures, don't know if they are in the combat zone though. |
| Posted by: bigjim-CA 2012-11-28 09:10 |
| #3 Not that the courts actually pay attention to the Constitution anymore but - Article I, Section 8 The Congress shall have Power- .. To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces; .. It was written there for a reason [see - English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell, et al] by the founding fathers (former English subjects with far better historical recall than their modern counterparts). BTW, if you're going to remove the prohibition from combat provisions based upon gender then you also need to alter Title X USC, para 311 on the Militia from... The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, ... to "all able-bodied citizens at least 17 years of age..." Let's have real equality, not prerogative or privilege to pick and choose. And can we make up for over two hundred years of discrimination that left hundreds of thousands of dead filling our military cemeteries with one predominate gender when the next draft gets kicked off? Affirmative Action needs to be implements 'fairly'. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2012-11-28 06:35 |
| #2 Federal Court in SF, ACLU, lawyers, feckless army leadership.... guys like Army Chief of Staff Odierno, who feel wymin should be allowed to attend Ranger School, NUTS, all of them NUTS! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-11-28 03:39 |
| #1 I volunteer Ariela Migdalia. And didn't I read yesterday that only two women volunteered for Marines advanced infantry school? It is a tough school, no dishonor both washed out, but might some like Ariela be pushing too hard? |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2012-11-28 02:54 |