Opinion On Military Women Essay, Research Paper
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When comparing men’s ability to women’s ability, there is no really a big
difference. Many people believe that differences do take place, but how? Both men and
women have hopes, dreams, strengths, weaknesses, and goals. Even though these
similarities exist, women are still sometimes thought to be lower than their male peers.
There have been many cases in which women felt they were being treated differently than
the males around them. But, there should never be that problem of inequality between men
and women in America’s defense system. Both men and women have the right to serve in
the military; but, many times women face discrimination and the problem of being not
accepted, possibly affecting women’s ability to serve their country.
The military was fully integrated in the mid-1970s. Yet, twenty-some years later,
women are still trying to gain full equality. In those past twenty years, there have been
many courageous women who have been fighting their way into record-breaking positions
so their male peers would accept them. Two of these women are Shannon Faulkner and
Shannon Workman. Faulkner was the first woman to become a cadet at the Citadel as she
walked through the gates on August 12, 1995. Faulkner entered the 152-year-old military
school located in South Carolina as a “knob,” or a first year cadet. Upon her arrival, the
military made exceptions to certain rules for her, one being that older male cadets could
not go through her drawers looking for underwear that was not folded properly. A private
bathroom with surveillance cameras was also constructed for Faulkner to prevent any foul
play . The second of these two women was Shannon Workman. In 1994, she became the
first woman to qualify as a female pilot who was combat ready in the Navy . Although the
military and the public recognize women like Faulkner and Workman, many women who
work to reach their goals go unrecognized. These women and others all should have the
opportunity to enter the military, with no restrictions because there is no sufficient
evidence that proves they shouldn?t.
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Women have been a part of the Marine Corps since 1943; but today women make
up a mere five- percent of the Corps population. In the Navy, women were invited onto
hospital ships in 1977. Today they too make up a small portion of the system with only
ten- percent. The Air Force and the Army have the greatest percentage of women. The
Army has eleven- percent and the Air Force has fourteen- percent (Moskos 108).
Although women have been partially accepted in America’s defense system, inequality is
still found in combat areas. Legally, women are not permitted to serve in any units that
have missions in ground or front-line combat. In the army, women are not allowed to
serve in infantry, armor-force and cannon artillery force units as well as combat engineers
units (Moskos 107). There are no reasons that women should not be able to be in these
positions. If there were some evidence that proved they would hurt the mission of there
team then maybe, but that is not he case. Considering the fact that most army positions are
combat-related, what jobs would that leave to women? Well, women are generally left
with positions such as truck drivers, medics, helicopter pilots, and cafeteria staff. Women
did not enroll in the army to drive trucks. They want to defend their country in combat just
like everyone else(men) that joins the army. Although women have more possibilities in
the Air Force, they are also prohibited from being flyer fighters and bomber plane pilots
(Moskos 108). Last, in the Navy women are still prohibited from being stationed on
submarines and minesweepers. They also cannot hold the position of a Navy SEAL. A
Navy SEAL is the most elite military force known to man, and they specialize in SEa, Air
and Land, which is where they receive their name. The fact that women are not allowed to
be Navy SEALS was the basis of a movie entitled “G.I. Jane.” In this movie you can see
that because a women would like to be a Navy SEAL she must pose as a man. This means
that in order for a woman to be something that she would truly like to be she must in a
way mask her true identity. She shouldn?t have to do anything to be accepted, it should be
her natural right as an American citizen. Women do not only face a struggle in combat;
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they are also striving to be seen among military ranking officers as well. Statistics show
that only twenty percent of jobs in the Marine Corps are open to women. The Army
follows with fifty-one percent. The Navy has a total of fifty-nine percent of jobs open to
women; and, the Air Force has an astonishing ninety-seven percent (Sagawa 1). This is
total discrimination, women should be available to one-hundred percent of the jobs.
Despite inequality among ranks in the military, women attain similar achievements in
academics, athletics, and military achievement. (Barringer 7). In the Army, only five
percent of its executives are women and the Marine Corps has only one woman that holds
an executive position. The reason as to why women might not hold as many executive
positions was stated in a book, “Sound Off! American Military Women Speak Out.” This
statement said that,”? women must waste the energy that men can save for their jobs or
their pleasures in proving herself in smashing stereotypes and overcoming prejudice,”
(Moskos 107). What this statement means is that because women are discriminated
against, most of their time and effort goes into trying to prove these stereotypes wrong.
Maybe if the stereotypes didn’t exist women would have a greater chance of gaining their
equality in combat and among ranks. In another report from the Naval Academy it was
stated that, “The negative attitudes are rooted in the fact that because women aren’t
allowed to hold combatant assignments, their contributions are limited. This fuels
persistent belief that women do not belong in the Academy,” (Barringer 7).
One major problem is that being not accepted is not an isolated case; women feel
not accepted throughout all the areas of the military. In a survey, forty-five percent of men
in their first year at the Naval Academy said that women did not belong there. The poll
was taken again when those men were in their senior year and thirty-eight percent still said
they felt that women did not belong at the Academy (Francake 174). Another survey given
in the military showed that only eleven to thirty-seven percent of women felt accepted
compared to the forty-eight to seventy-one percent of men who felt they were accepted.
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Part of the reason that these women might feel like they do not belong is verbal abuse. The
Citadel’s spokesman described basic training as, “Hell with a purpose, knob year is a
physically and psychologically grueling continuum of five-mile runs, push-ups and
subordination to upperclassmen,” (Sack 7). During these so-called “five-mile runs,”
training leaders will tell their men that they, “?run like a bunch of women.” Or, how
about when drill sergeants refer to tired men as “women” and “pussies” (Francake 162)?
This is supposed to be a motivational tool towards men, but at the same time it is also a
put down for the women that are present. Since acceptance of women has gotten worse
every year, twice as many women resigned from the Naval Academy in 1987 then in 1976
(Barringer 7).
One of the biggest problems that is currently growing in the military is sexual
harassment. Like the problem of being not accepted sexual harassm
case, because it too is found in all branches of the military. Captain Hartman stated, “If
sexual harassment goes the way racism in the Navy and Marine Corps, you can expect to
have it around for a long time.” In 1989 a study at the Pentagon showed that sixty-four
percent of women said they were sexually harassed, that percent was only at forty-two
two years earlier in 1987 (McGonigle and Timms 1). Then in 1990, it was labeled that
sexual harassment was an “epidemic” because in a survey given to twenty thousand
women, two out of three said they at one time or another had unwanted advances made at
them (Francake 157). Forty-seven percent of investigated women said they had
experienced this “unwanted sexual attention.” Fifteen percent said they experienced sexual
coercion, and seven- percent had experienced sexual assault. These statistics are backed
up when Cadet Adelle Belisle stated, “We came here naive and trusting, thinking that we’d
be protected by the people around us. It was shocking. We all know cases of sexual
harassment here,” (Schmitt 13). In the Navy, it was found that fifty percent of its women
midshipmen experienced harassment at least twice a month at the Naval
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Academy (Francake 173). Two examples of talked about sexual harassment cases are
founded in the Navy. One of which in 1989, Gwen Dreyer was physically removed from
her room, and brought to the men’s bathroom. There she was handcuffed to a urinal and
taunted by male peers who at the same time proceeded to take photographs of her
(Sagawa 1). A more recent case was the Tailhook Scandal in 1992. The Tailhook was the
name given to the case where twenty-six women were “mistreated” at a party in male
dorms. The Naval Academy admitted that, “Despite official policy to the contrary a
climate free of sexual harassment does not exist at the Naval Academy.” Sexual
harassment has been in the military for a long time; and finally by 1981, all branches of the
military issued their own definition of sexual harassment ranging from “unwanted sexual
advances” to “requests for sexual favors,” (Francake 157). Although many areas of the
military have different ways of controlling sexual harassment, there are one or two things
that are the same throughout the military. In order to try to cut down on sexual
harassment, no dating or sexual relationships are permitted (Schmitt 8). Men are also
required to be accompanied by female escorts when they enter women’s sleeping quarter’s
after hours (as with women in men’s quarters). Once they have entered the sleeping
quarter men must knock, announce themselves and then wait five seconds before entering
the room (Schmitt 15). The last thing is that the military would like to separate men and
women into separate housing buildings and during basic training. But, as of now, men and
women are still functioning together in co-educational units. The Navy has been trying to
recover from the recent Tailhook scandal by changing the conditions that men and women
are in together. The Navy has spent one point three million dollars on constructing private
sleeping quarters for women. Also constructed was an examination room on the sick bay,
which contains stocks of feminine products and cosmetics (Schmitt 15). Captain Gemmill
of the Navy explains that,” We probably can’t stop sexual harassment, but we can decrease
the most obvious and obnoxious kind, the foul language, leering, or touching,” (Schmitt
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13). To fight against this harassment, the Navy has started what they are calling the
“bumper sticker” approach. This approach contains a green zone (go), and yellow zone
(slow down) and a red zone (stop). The “bumper sticker” approach works as follows: your
offense is classified into a zone and from there your punishment will depend on the degree
of your offense. Although the Navy believes this to be a great idea, the Army is skeptical
and an army official expresses his feelings by saying, “Oh gosh. I didn’t know saying ‘Good
Morning,’ to someone is a green zone, and I am really glad to know that rape is a red
zone,” (Dowd 11). After the Army conducted the largest investigation of sexual
harassment, they stated in a report that, “?sexual harassment exists, throughout the
Army?and the leadership is responsible.” After this investigation, drill sergeants who
came in contact with women recruits were required to have more difficult screening. Also,
three-star generals would serve as “watch-dogs” over basic training leaders at the training
centers. The Air Force, as well, has been making a conscious effort to prevent sexual
harassment. General Bradey C. Hosmer gathered five hundred and eighteen women in an
auditorium and had all of the men removed except himself. He then proceeded to tell the
women he wanted to “ground-truth on sexual harassment.” For four hours women poured
out with their concerns on sexual harassment and over fifty percent of the women said
they had known of cases of sexual harassment (Schmitt 15). Despite all of the changes in
the different areas of the military, Secretary West still admittes, “Sexual harassment
however continues to be a problem,” (Shenon 7). The military has been trying to get
women to come forth and report any cases of sexual harassment. Some women do, but
many women do not. They do not come forward for a few reasons, one being that they are
scared. Investigators reported that women do not report sexual harassment out of fear that
they would be punished instead of their tormentors. “The Army’s actions make it clear that
there is no room for sexual abuse, harassment, or discrimination in today’s military,”
(Shenon 7).
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If this is so, why do percents show that in the Army alone forty-one percent of its
discharges were women (Francake 181)? Most of these discharges were found to be after
the reporting of sexual harassment. This also happened in the Air Force, when Pat Gavin
lost her eight- year career by reporting sexual misbehavior. Women were also investigated
for being homosexuals after reporting sexual harassment. When one hundred women
complained they were mistreated they went through psychiatric exams, and they too were
investigated about possibly being homosexuals. Investigation of homosexuality was also
found in the Navy. In one instance one woman reported being harassed by one of her male
peers. As a result her and six other women were discharged for being homosexuals
(McGonigle and Timms 1). When the military did this, it confused women. They tell
women to come forward with sexual harassment charges, but when women do they are
the ones who suffer by being investigated for homosexuality, having to undergo
psychiatric testing, or even worse, being discharged. How could they ever expect things to
change with consequences like these that women have to possibly face.
Overall, women have been a part of the military for a long time. And, for a long
time they have been not accepted, harassed, and thought to be unequal. Inside women are
the same as men, and if they want to be in the military they should be able to. They should
also be able to have equal rights, and be permitted to hold the same jobs and ranks. If a
women can prove that she an do everything that a man can do, even-though she shouldn?t
have to, then she should have an equal opportunity in the military. There have been and
there still are people that are fighting for equal rights for women. But, as of now it still
remains a problem. The military must realize that there is not a difference between men
and women besides what the human eye can see.