Argumentative Essay On Women In The Military

Words: 2065
Pages: 9

Direct Ground Combat is defined by The Secretary of Defense as engaging an enemy on the ground with individual or crew-served weapons while being exposed to hostile fire and to a high probability of direct physical contact with the hostile force’s personnel. (Aspin) This definition is highly associated with male roles in the military, for example, those who serve as infantry soldiers, But who would have thought that this would soon also apply to women as well. Currently, our nation offers five different service branches in which men and women may enlist. These branches of the military being: The Army, The Navy, The Air Force, The Marines and The Coastguard. As of March 31, 2010, Men make up 82% of military personnel leaving women at 18%. (Hurt) This percentage of women soon to increase by opening an estimated 220,000 jobs to women with the new legislation of allowing women into combat.
Ever since America began engaging in warfare, there has been a controversy
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Since the time of our first armies, in our revolutionary war, women under many circumstances have served in the military, often times sneaking into combat roles as men. For the most part, these women in the military did partake in their assigned duties which were limited to nursing, cooking and mending men’s battered uniforms (“women”). Then these opportunities were expanded with the establishment of the women's army corps in 1943, which offered women larger roles in our military, but was not considered equal to those roles of the men who were serving (Bellafaire). The noticeable time when women started to make progress with the quality of men was with the passing of the women's armed service act of 1948, which gave women a permanent place in the military. Finally allowing females to have benefits viewed similarly to those of men in similar