Women in the military i

Does the United States really need women in combat?

Emily Vanleer

Writing 103

Professor Fielding

March 13, 2019

Women in the military ii

 Abstract

The research question that I chose to research was “Does the United States really need

women in combat?” I chose this topic for multiple reasons to give my viewpoint on why women

should be in the military. One reason is that I am a woman myself going into the Navy and I

wanted to do some research on why this is a question for people. Another reason is that there are

so many women in the military who have done so much good for the military service. For people

to wonder if women are really needed is interesting to me especially with all the missions women

have done to help their country. This topic is very interesting for me so I wanted to get the views

from different people, websites, and articles. This is an important question for my professor,

peers, and others because what if the women around me want to join the military but this

question stopped them from doing that. It is also good for my audience to see my viewpoint and

the viewpoints of other women in the military who might be going through discrimination like

this.

Women in the Military 1

 Does the United States need women in combat?

Women have won the right to fight for their country and have done some amazing things

for the United States military, but some people question women's role in the military and it has

been associated with discrimination in the service towards women. I researched many articles on

the subject and have read many different viewpoints on the subject. The two opinions I looked at

were why women should be in the military and why it is a bad idea for women to be in the

military. I also found an article with statistics about women in the service. My topic is about

describing women’s role in the military and how they can make a huge impact in the military. I

want to answer the question by saying women are needed in the service and they play an

important role that some men could not do as easily.

It is extremely important to look at this question because so many women are joining

the military and are starting to get higher up in the military role as far as commander positions

and the more intense task forces. In today’s society women have so many freedoms then they

had in the 90’s. Women are becoming more independent and stronger than they ever were. The

urgency to finding a solution is so that women won’t feel discriminated in the military. We also

need an answer so more women continue to join the armed forces without having the question of

whether they belong or not.

The first article is called “Women in the U.S. Military: Growing Share, Distinctive

Profile” by Eileen Patten and Kim Parker.This article has all kinds of statistics about the women

Women in the military 2

serving in our military. For example it talks about how the number of women is growing in the

military. They also compare numbers between men and women in the military. For example, out

of all the branches in the military, there are 25% women and 22% men in the Navy. It shows a

lot of other statistics like how many women are in each branch, how women handle things after

they serve, and the marriage rates of women serving. (Pew Social and Demographic Trends)

The second article is “Women overcome barriers for greater role in the military” by Kate

Germano. It is about women accomplishing things in the military that many thought they could

not. For example the article states how there were three women who graduated a leadership camp

in the Army that is known to be very difficult. In the article she talks about how women bring

brains, strength, and courage to the military. She talks about how many doubted women and

think that they can become a distraction to men in the military. Women have proven that they are

very tough and can accomplish challenges placed in front of them. (The San Diego Union-

Tribune)

The last article is “Putting women in combat is an even worse idea than you’d think” by

Mike Fredenberg. In this article, it talks about how women should not be in the military and that

it is an awful idea. In the article he talks about how women but themselves and the men they are

working with in a dangerous position because they are not physically or mentally prepared for it.

He points out a lot of things that women struggle with in the military and how they don’t meet

the standards of men when they are on the battlefield. He also talks about how men’s standards

have been declining because of women being in the military. (National Review)

Women in the military 3

 All three sources talk about the subject of women being in the military and gives facts

behind their statements. All articles also talk about the struggles that women go through in the

military. For example, all of the articles bring up how women can struggle with some of the

physical things that men do. All of them also point out the discrimination that women go through

while serving. In the article, Women overcome barriers for greater role in military, states “if

women show their identification cards or wear clothing with military logos, people assumes that

they are simply spouses or girlfriends of service men” (para. 12). My first two articles are more

similar to each though because they have a more positive outlook on how important women are

to the military.

My first two articles have more similarities with each other than the third one has with

either of them. The two articles talk about the good things that women bring to the military. Even

though the first one is more statistical than the second one, it still talks about how women do

special operations in the military that sometimes men can’t do. For example in the article,

Women overcome barriers for greater role in the military, it says “these women are warriors in

every sense of the word, and their their physical and mental capabilities clearly demonstrate that

military women are capable of competing with men” (para. 11) Another thing both articles talk

about is the officer roles that women get. Even though there are not as many female officers as

there is male officer, they are still able to get those higher up positions.

Women in the military 4

My third article is different from my other two articles in that it talks about why it is a

bad idea for women to be in the military. The author states that having women in the military is
unfair to men in the military and to themselves. He says that women are the reason standards for

men have dropped. The other two articles on the other hand talk about how women are very

strong and have a lot to bring to the armed forces. They also talk about how some women are

able to do the requirements that men have as far as physical and psychological tests go.

I have learned a lot about people’s view of women in the military and their reasons

behind their opinions. I have also learned a lot of statistics about women being in the military.

For example I learned that out of the percentage of women in the military 25% are in the Navy

where as men is 22%. My view on the topic is that women are very important to the armed

forces and they contribute a lot to the service. I definitely think women have a place in any

military branch. My planned position for the upcoming web page is that women have a place in

the military. I have found a lot of facts and information that support my topic or my argument. I

also found opposing views to argue against. Some more research I could do to fill in the gaps is

maybe find a perspective from a women who served and get her experience and views on the

topic.

Women in the military 5

Cited Sources Page

1.Germano, K. (2016, August 20). Women overcome barriers for greater role in military.
 Retrieved from
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/sdut-military-women-combat-
2016aug04-story.html

2. Fredenburg, M., & Fredenburg, M. (2015, July 16). Putting Women in Combat Is an Even
Worse Idea Than You'd Think. Retrieved from
https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/07/women-in-combat-military-effectiveness-deadly-
pentagon/

3. Patten, E., & Parker, K. (n.d.). Women in the U.S. Military: Growing share distinctive profile.
Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/12/women-
in-the-military.pdf