LexisNexis SUMMARIES: MILITARY WOMEN & THEIR WAY OF LIFE

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Military defends way of life. November 9, 2006

This was a very touching article for me, because it was written by a military family member. These articles always seem to “move” me. Like many active military members and their family, this person felt that the men and women of the armed forces are not given enough credit for their everyday sacrifice. They say, “The service men and women have put their lives in danger. They have done that for you. That is an amazing thing when you think about where and how we live today. Most people are ignorant of the military. Ignorance breeds fear and distrust.” There are also statistics given in this article stating that at one point in the US, one in every seven Americans had served in the military, today, it is more like one in three hundred. I can not believe that!!!


US Fed News. U.S. MILITARY WOMEN: TOO CLOSE TO COMBAT ZONE? May 25, 2005.

In this article, I learned that today our military forces are made up of nearly 15% women. Yay for us! :o) Over the years we are crossed many barriers and are now able to hold MOST positions that are offered, except in units that engage in ground combat. There is currently a bill in the US Congress that is seeking to restrict the role of female troops in combat zones. If this bill is passed, it will affect more that 20 thousand women in the service. Sometimes I wonder how the men serving truly feel about this. Maybe I should call up some of my military boys and ask them. I never really thought about it until I started researching this. To date in Iraq, more than 11 thousand US military women are serving and more than thirty have died, mostly near combat zones. This bill that is in office right now was started because of people like Professor Hanson, who stated, “Women in the military are shown to be either too vulnerable and too weak or somehow too strange and aberrant. Too much focus on sex scandals, rape and other problems gives the impression that women hinder rather than contribute to the success of the armed forces.” This statement really made me angry. If it weren’t for the women in the military, many of the hospitals and medical facilities wouldn’t be “manned”!!! Then what?


The Record. Women becoming a lethal force in military. Tom Davis. February 21, 2005.

I learned many great statistics in this article. Of the nearly 200,000 US troops deployed in Iraw and Afghanistan, about 13,000 are women. While most of the women there are performing supporting roles such as nurses, clerks, administrators, and other related jobs, there are just as many that are armed and prepared to preserve security! (good for them!) After more than 2 years of conflict in Iraq, nearly three times as many women have died in Iraq as in the entire Vietnam War. YIKES!!! Tom Davis stated, “Their role (women) on the battlefield remains restricted, even though they endure the same blood and turmoil as men. Women still can’t serve in combat positions, such as the Special Forces or Infantry, or ride in tanks though, according to the Pentagon.” Women were not allowed to join the military until the World War I era, and they weren’t permitted in service academies until 1976!