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... his troops into combat (Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy, 1991, p. 213). If women were unable to meet any of these physical standards then the military's exclusion policy should remain in affect. PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS OF COMBAT FACTS There are many psychological differences among men and women that are as important as the physical ones that separate the genders. The first difference is that men are more aggressive then women due to testosterone levels (Law and Inequality, 1991, p. 21). Under this assumption females would not perform as well in combat because they lack the aggression that males have (Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy, 1991, 223).
Another psychological factor is that men would feel the need to protect women from harm similar to the Israeli soldiers in 1948 (Harvard International Review, 1992, p. 58). The stress in combat is another factor that many people feel women would not be able to handle. There have been no documented cases among women who served in the Gulf War that they could not handle the stress (Hypatia, 1995, p. 65). Air Force pilot Rhonda Corner who was shot down during the gulf war is an example of women's ability to cope with stress (Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy, 1991, p. 222). As a POW she dealt with many forms of abuse and still managed to cope with her situation the her fellow male prisoners did. Almost fifty percent of servicemembers surveyed during the Gulf War said that fraternization within the unit decreased its morale (Congressional Quarterly Researcher, 1996, p. 375).
DISCUSSION The performance of Russian women in WWII refutes the theory that women are less effective in combat then men. German troops were quoted as saying they were more afraid of the female pilots then the male (The Journal of Military Affairs, 1993, p. 320) Secondly, the women seeking combat positions will generally be more aggressive than the majority of females who stay within traditional roles within the military. Although women performed well in the Gulf War, the 4 -day war was not long to provide empirical evidence as to how women would perform in combat situations (Congressional Quarterly Weekly, 1992, p. 842). More research has to be conducted to determine the long-term effects women would have on a combat unit. Decreasing fraternization within a unit is the commanders responsibility.
This relies on effective leadership from the bottom all the way to the top ensuring each member within the chain of command understands the effects of fraternization (Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy, 1991, p. 215). UNIT-COHESION IN A COMBAT UNIT FACTS When a units moral is lowered this can lead to a decrease of the unit-cohesion that must take place within a combat unit. No studies have been done to prove or disprove women in combat would lower a units moral (Editorial Research Reports, 1989, p. 582). In the majority of combat units it is effective leadership and training that results in the unit cohesion (Hypatia, 1995, p. 65). Also many senior military officials feel that anything feminine destroys male-bonding and units should remain strictly male (Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy, 1991, p. 213). However, a study of cohesion and readiness of combat support units during extended field exercises proved otherwise (Armed Forces & Society, 1996, p. 17).
Male and female soldiers were asked questions about how they felt their unit performed in the field. "The study showed that the proportion of women (up to 35 %) had no significant effect on the operational capabilities of the unit. " (Armed Forces & Society, 1995, p. 17). DISCUSSION Unit-cohesion is the commander's responsibility for his unit. As the above survey shows men and women can interact without a decrease in unit cohesion. More importantly this survey was done while the unit was on a field exercise where stress levels are the highest.
It was determined through the survey that when there are up to a third of the women in a unit this has no effect on unit-cohesion (Armed Forces & Society, 1995, p. 17). There have been no long-term studies done to determine if women in combat units will reduce unit cohesion (Editorial Research Reports, 1989, p. 582). HEALTH CARE OF FEMALES FACTS Both men and women in the military face many of the same health care needs. When a member of any unit becomes sick or injured and cannot be deployed this affects a units effectiveness.
In the Gulf War, 9 percent of women could not be deployed with their units (Congressional Quarterly Researcher, 1992, p. 839). Women also have many "gynecologic and non-gynecologic needs" (Military Medicine, 1992, p. 221) that would have to cared for by trained physicians. In 1992 army researchers conducted the first extensive study on women deployed with combat support unit. In the study of a Heavy Armor Division during the Gulf War, it was discovered that women's health care needs can be met by well-trained physicians and that there presence did not have a significant impact on a units effectiveness (Military Medicine, 1992, p. 221).
DISCUSSION There are many stereotypes people feel make a combat unit not feasible for females. However, closer look at the numbers reveals that men lose more time because of drug and alcohol abuse then women do with these three factors combined (Congressional Quarterly Weekly, 1992, p. 839). As women continue to become an integral part of the military their health care needs should be meet by well-trained doctors and nurses (Military Medicine, 1992, p. 219). Given this evidence there is no logical basis for excluding women from combat to their health care needs CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS Women will make up nearly a fourth of the military within the next fifty years (Congressional Quarterly Weekly, 1996, p. 380). As their numbers increase so should the amount of jobs they are allowed to perform. Whether or not women should serve in combat should still be openly debated.
There is no doubt that some women could handle the physical and physiological demands of combat (Congressional Quarterly Weekly, 1992, p. 846). That is not the most important question that has to answered. The fact is that many men would not be able handle seeing women in combat. Like the Israeli in 1948, the impact of seeing rows and rows of dead females could be too much to bear for many men (Harvard International Review, 1992, p. 58).
The Gulf War did not provide enough data to conclude that women should be allowed in combat. Women did perform well in the jobs they were assigned, however, the war was not long enough for the military to evaluate how they would perform under fire (Congressional Quarterly Researcher, 1992, p. 842). There is only one question that needs to be answered. How will the effectiveness of the combat unit be affected by allowing women in combat? This report has defined effectiveness and through empirical research shown the various aspects that can affect a military units effectiveness. After conducting my research and answering the scope questions I have determined that more research needs to be done.
To simply allow women to serve in combat units if they meet the qualifications would be impractical. The military has to conduct extensive field-testing to answer this question. Every facet that women would bring to a combat unit has to be analyzed. When the military community determines that women in combat would not lower effectiveness, only then should women be given the chance to serve in combat units. Bibliography: Bibliography WORKS CITED Campbell, D. (1993).
Women in combat: The great world war II experience in the united states, great britian, germany, and the soviet union. The Journal of Military History, 57 (2), 310 - 325. Dec, J. W. (1995).
The combat exclusion and the role of women in the miliary. Hypatia, 10 (1), 56 - 72. Dunbar, C. (1992). Toward a gender blind military. Harvard International Review, 15 (1), 52 - 58.
Durand, D. B. & Rosen, L. (1996). Cohesion and readiness in gender-integrated combat service support units: The impact of acceptance of women and gender ratio. Armed Forces & Society, 22 (4), 17 - 31. Hines, J. H. (1992).
Ambulatory health care needs of women deployed with a heavy armor division during the persian gulf war. Military Medicine, 157 (5), 219 - 221. Katz, L. V. (1991). Free a man to fight.
Law and Inequality, 10 (1), 1 - 51. Landers, R. K. (1989). Should women be allowed into combat? Editorial Research Reports, 570 - 582. Peach, L.
J. (1991). Women at war: The ethics of women in combat. Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy, 15, 199 - 238. Stencel, S. (Ed. ). (1996). New military culture. The Congressional Quarterly Researcher, 6 (16), 363 - 382.
Stencel, S. (Ed. ). (1992). Women in the military. The Congressional Quarterly Researcher, 2 (36), 835 - 853. Word Count: 2706
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Research essay sample on Congressional Quarterly Weekly Unit Cohesion
