According to this, Panetta is about to announce that women will be allowed to serve in front line positions in the military, overturning a 1994 rule which banned women from being assigned to ground combat units.
This will affect each branch of service, and the military will have until 2016 to request exceptions for any positions they feel should still be closed to women.
This means, that within a few years, we might have something like this:
(Confession: I accidentally really loved that movie.)
But listen - here's my take. I'm all for women being afforded the same opportunities as men. I'm just not for those opportunities being MODIFIED in any way to accommodate women. So, if being a SEAL requires you to be able to carry a 200 lb dude on your shoulders, for example, then by golly, you need to be able to carry a 200 lb dude on your shoulders, regardless of whether you're a man or a woman.
Equal opportunity - yes. Equal treatment - yes.
You know what's annoying? When fire and police departments modify the physical requirements for women who are trying out for those well-sought after positions. That's complete crap. If being a firefighter means that you need to be able to lift an adult out of a window and carry him/her down a ladder, then you need to be able to do it - PERIOD. If you can't, whether you're a man or woman is immaterial. YOU SHOULDN'T GET THE JOB.
And that's how I feel about this. I'm ALL FOR women who are fit and capable of serving as SEALS becoming SEALS, or otherwise serving on the frontlines. But they shouldn't get any special breaks to do it.
I don't know about you all, but I'd just as soon see our most elite military forces remain, well, elite. If that means women are part of the teams, awesome. But only if those women passed the same physical tests as the men.
Please wait...
