| Show Women share in crisis duty I volunteered for the army not the girl scouts scoutS i i Christa McKinnon Managing Editor b back ck on history LOOKING women have taken part in every military crisis since the revolutionary war But now that the US U.S. S has deployed troops to the Persian Gulf a womans woman's place is more evident than ever Eleven percent of the total armed forces are women four times as many as in 1973 Despite the fact that there are increased numbers of women joining their male counterparts counterparts counterparts counter counter- parts in military action they are still not allowed to serve serve in combat positions The argument argument argument ar ar- still exists that women dont don't have the upper- upper body strength to load 60 pound shells into guns However some women say that brute force is irrelevant in many of today's tech high-tech combat jobs One former female navy s submariner said On a ship war war is tech high-tech and men arent aren't any better at video games than women Regardless pure physical strength is not the only ment Many military men believe that the presence of women would disrupt the male bonding that occurs at war One man stated Men cannot simply simply- treat women like other men A few months of training will not make them into sexless sol sol- diers In fact women can trainmen train trainmen trainmen men for missions they cant can't carry out themselves and in some cases t they ey can com command command com com- mand units in which they cant can't serve Nevertheless women in inthe inthe inthe the Middle East face further difficulties The clash of culture culture cul cul- ture with their Moslem counterparts is apparent in every day life In a country where women cant can't show their faces venture out on their own or obtain a drivers driver's license Saudi troops may find it difficult to accept a female GI issuing orders Nevertheless Saudis Saudi's have allowed a little leeway for US U.S. military women Servicewomen Ser Ser- S Servicewomen r- r can now dis- dis drive vehicles while on duty but they are not allowed to wear shorts jog or even shop 0 on ri military bases unless they are accompanied accompanied accompanied by a maby man Rep Patricia Schroder who chairs the House Subcommittee on military installation questions questions ques ques- the fairness of the situa situa- tion Can you imagine if we sent black soldiers to South Africa and told them to go along with apartheid rules Regardless of cultural conflicts conflicts con con- most female soldiers will admit that the hardest part of being in the Middle East is not the degrees in inthe inthe inthe the shade or the threat of chemical warfare it is leaving the loved ones behind and kissing your year six daughter good-bye good as she says Mom if you die over there Im I'm coming to rescue you |
