Women in War
September 17, 2001
Lindsay Becker
Russell
As a woman in the United States Army, I live everyday knowing that I am not allowed
to do all the things in the military that men are allowed to do. Because I am a woman I
am disqualified from fighting in any war as an infantrymen, but put in a building or
taking care of the wounded. I cannot become a ranger, or a fighter pilot to name just a
few. I have always been the type of person that believes if I am willing to do something
that I want, whether it be for personal pleasure, for a good cause or some other reason,
then I should be given at least a shot. I believe that if a woman wants to fight in war,
then they should be allowed, but only with the proper training and the right set of mind.
When I was at Basic Combat Training a bunch of us females were having a
conversation on the reason why women are not allowed to fight in war. He said that the
reason was because when the enemy happens to see a wounded female and a wounded
man at the same time, there is almost a hundred percent chance that the enemy is going to
attack and kill the women before the man. Mainly because they come across as being
more vulnerable then men. I can see that to a point, but if I were that were that female I
would put up a fight that the male would never expect out of me and they are going to
wish they went after the male.
Ted Sampley, a U.S. Veteran dispatch states that women should not be allowed to
fight in war because if they are captured they could be sexually violated and raped
(Women in War). I guess if women were thinking about getting raped at the time, then
we would all have alarms in our houses or our car, carry mace or a gun, and never go
anywhere alone. I know that a lot of women do some of these things, but we cannot not
do things because we are afraid of the “what if’s”. To me, I guess if I would not do
anything because I was afraid of what may happen, my life would be pretty boring. I,
along with many other people are not going to live our lives afraid of things, instead we
will do what we need to do to survive and if that means going to war then we are going
to.
More than 400,000 women served in the WWII, and women now make up about
eleven percent of the military today. They serve in every capacity except ground combat
(Smith). Well, that is, in most cases.
Women have been known and looked upon as heroes for disguising themselves as
men; many of them didn’t get their identity revealed until they were dying or already
dead. In 1863, a girl known only as Emily (19 years old) ran away from her home to
serve her country. While fighting for Chattanooga her side was pierced by a minie ball,
which in the end was fatal. When someone went to her side they realized she was a
woman and then asked whom she was. She refused to disclose her name afraid of the
consequences. That is until she consented to dictate a telegram to let her father in
Brooklyn know why she ran away and what had happened to her(Wilson).
Ma Ying led an all female palace guard troops in the nineteenth century in Siam,
which known as Thialand today. Her troops were considered the best trained and most
loyal of Kings soldiers and were never defeated in battle (
).
Tamara of Georgia ruled for twenty-four years. The men she led to battle called her
“King” because she campaigned with them and shared the hardships as a male soldier.
Before her death in 1212, she had managed to conquer parts of Turkey, Persia, and
Armenia that bordered Georgia at that time. Tamara of Georgia ended frequent
invasions, which had decimated her nation prior to her reign (
).
The first recorded effort to bar women was a law passed in 590 AD at Synod of Druim
Ceat, which in the end proved to be unenforceable. Women refused to lay down their
arms and comply with it then, why would people think it would be different now when
we have better means of fighting an enemy(
).
One never knows when a war will come. One never knows who will be sent to
war, it may be the person who means everything to you, or possibly yourself. I do know
that if I am still in the military I will do all I can to help this country. If I do get sent I can
guarantee that I will be one of those women who disguise themselves as a man, and along
with myself I know there will be plenty more that will do the same. Just like myself, they
know that sometimes you have to do what’s right even if it means losing their life in the
end.