Introduction
Whether women should serve as infantrymen or not is a complicated and divisive topic that has been discussed for a long time. Less than 4% of women work in combat roles, such as infantry, artillery units, fighter pilots, etc., according to data from the IDF from 2014. Instead, they are primarily focused on “combat-support”. Despite this, women assigned to ground combat roles usually only get to perform security duties in peaceful regions. According to the Army, women have been part of the American military since the Revolutionary War. Since then, there has been a shift, allowing women to serve in combat without dressing like men. Despite being underrepresented, women can join the infantry, lead battalions, or work as Army Rangers in the 21st-century Army. In the modern Army, women are indispensable (Heitmann, 2020). They are the front-line Soldiers, leaders, officers, and noncommissioned officers who support our soldiers; they are part of the US Army Civilian Corps; and they are also employers, spouses, mothers, and sisters who are essential members of our Army family. There has been a debate on whether women should be allowed to play a role in the infantry (Heitmann, 2020). This essay will determine whether women should be allowed in the infantry and provide justification for my position.
My position
Women should not be permitted to serve in the infantry. Physical disparities have been the main point of contention in arguments against women serving in infantry duties. This includes the idea that women are not physically capable of handling the demanding physical demands of warfare, which can result in significant losses and lower unit effectiveness. Some claim that the presence of women can affect overall combat effectiveness, arguing that mixed-sex units may not perform at the same level due to physical differences and the possibility of romantic relationships developing. This is in addition to the disruption of unit movement, which also affects discipline and morale.
Justification
In single-sex regular entry training, women experienced a 1.5-fold greater incidence of musculoskeletal injuries than males, mainly because lower limb injuries were more common. This information is based on a study by O’Leary et al. (2020). In basic military training, women usually face a two- to three-fold increased risk of musculoskeletal injuries compared to men. Furthermore, the investigation found that women in regular entry training had a greater frequency of musculoskeletal injuries and a higher incidence of stress fractures than males in officer training.
Being a woman in the military requires balancing many identities against conventional gender norms. Living under authority and feeling invisible, misunderstood by the institution they serve and the society whose Constitution they are pledged to defend is what it means to be a military soldier (Friales et al., 2023). The study by Friales et al. on female militants exposed several obstacles that women must overcome. The participants experienced difficulties upholding constant emotional and physical control and discipline in their words and deeds. The shift from a civilian to a military lifestyle is difficult as it entails giving up one’s personal life and civic lifestyle to devote all of one’s time to the military (Moore, 2020). The participants struggled to maintain their hygiene during their military training because they were forced to follow their commanding officers’ orders and take a bath with just one water-filled dipper, suffer bacterial infections in their reproductive organs from frequent and sporadic immersion in the filthy water canal (suburban), and go without a bath, which meant they had to wear the same dirty clothes every day of the week (Friales et al., 2023).
The volunteers spoke up about what happened to them throughout the program, describing how they were handled and how strenuous the physical exercise had been. One was nearly discouraged after being pricked in the head and made to hang on a pull-up bar as a kind of punishment (Moore, 2020). Some claim that the subject of women’s physical aptitude is unrelated to the subject of military sexual assault susceptibility (Friales et al., 2023). Military women nevertheless have the sense of having their pride undermined and their patience tested, which can lead to thoughts of giving up even when they can handle the physical exercises. The family’s practical and emotional support will probably be significantly missed by military trainees who go through significant life pressures or switch from civilian to military life as they try to deal with the difficulties they face in training.
Conclusion
Even though more women are in the military than ever, their experiences are frequently uneven. The prevalence of sexual attacks by males on female members of the armed forces remains high. Many women may lack the emotional fortitude or physical strength necessary to fight on the front lines. Arguments against women doing army duty have centered chiefly on physical differences. Among these is the notion that women are not physically fit for the taxing physical demands of combat, which can lead to heavy casualties and decreased unit efficiency. The trainees had challenges with cleanliness during the training session, including the commander’s instruction to bathe with only a bottle of water. Their frequent and sporadic exposure to air caused bacterial infections in their reproductive organs. I traveled without taking a bath and crossed soiled rivers. They were forced to spend the entire week wearing the same soiled clothing. Women are often two to three times as likely as males to get musculoskeletal injuries during basic military training. The evidence provided supports and justifies why women should not be allowed to play a role in the infantry.
References
Friales, W., Rolluqui, C., Villahermosa, M. D., & Karon, S. N. O. (2023). Withstanding the Challenges on Infantry Operational Courses: The Case of Military Women in the Division Training School in Cotabato City. East Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(4), 1689-1708. https://doi.org/10.55927/eajmr.v2i4.3653
Heitmann, A. G. (2020). Manly Mud: Portrayal of Masculinity in Infantry Units in World War Two as Seen in the Comics of Bill Mauldin. https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1894&context=student_scholarship
Moore, B. L. (2020). Military women: changes in representation and experiences. Handbook of Military Sciences, pp. 1–22. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-030-02866-4_80-1.pdf
O’Leary, T. J., Wardle, S. L., Rawcliffe, A. J., Chapman, S., Mole, J., & Greeves, J. P. (2020). Understanding the musculoskeletal injury risk of women in combat: the effect of infantry training and sex on musculoskeletal injury incidence during British Army basic training. BMJ Mil Health. https://doi.org/10.1136/jramc-2019-001347
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