warfare, so keeping women out of combat positions for this reason is discriminating against women. Overall, many feel that it is crippling to the idea of equality to not allow women to serve in any position that they chose to in the military, and that women should be given the opportunity to prove themselves able to do the job.Women should not be allowed to serve in combat arms positions because many of them are not physically able to perform well in this capacity. It is a known fact that, as a group, men are stronger than women. One of the primary reasons that women are barred from combat arms positions is because their physical strength is inferior to that of men- and rightfully so. Combat arms positions requires great physical strength and endurance to perform a multitude of physical tasks, including marching while carrying weapons and heavy gear, hours of physical training, and lifting “dead” comrades during training exercises. Of course a combat arms soldier’s duties are endless, and most of them require much strength and endurance. According to the February 1999 edition of Reader’s Digest, a US Navy study revealed that women possess half of the lifting power of men. This report also says that women scoring in the top seven percent torso strength among women scored in the bottom seven percent when compared to men (142). The torso is where most men in combat positions gather their strength to perform their tasks, and women rank in the lowest percentile of those that are men that are currently available to serve in combat positions. Therefore, deciding to allow them to fill these jobs would not only damage to quality of the military but could also potentially injure female soldiers. Women are just not fit enough to serve in combat arms positions.My husband is an infantryman in the United States Army, and he has witnessed much of the practice of the women currently serving in the military. While on a...
