Study of women in combat units in other countries raises questions about US move

Rowan Scarborough:

As the Obama administration pressed the military to end all sex segregation, the Marine Corps decided to see for itself how other countries employ women in direct combat — and it has amassed some surprising results over the past two years.

In Canada, where a ban was lifted in 1989, the number of women in combat arms remains low and there are no specific physical requirements for any jobs in the Canadian land forces.

In Israel, which requires military service of its citizens, women in the vaunted Israel Defense Forces are restricted to serving in two light infantry border units when it comes to direct land combat.

These findings, among many others, are part of the Corps’ after-action report, one of 21 Marine studies and reviews released by the Pentagon after Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced Dec. 3 that all combat jobs would be opened to women. He overruled the Marine Corps, which sought an exemption for infantry and commando units.

The Corps dispatched its Force Innovation Office to four nations — Australia, Canada, Israel and the United Kingdom — as part of the four military branches’ study about the impact of putting women into the infantry, armor and special operations forces. The Marines, by far, performed a larger number of assessments than the Army, Air Force and Navy.

In Australia, the Marine team found a defense force still grappling with its recent decision to open combat to women. It reported resistance to tough physical and mental standards for women from civilian leaders, who actually do the recruiting for the Australian Defense Force.

The report said the School of Infantry Commander “was concerned that abandoning traditional physical training routines was compromising the mental toughness of his students.”

Meanwhile, Canada’s lack of specific physical requirements for military occupations stands in sharp contrast to the U.S. armed forces, which require combatants to be able to complete a number of specific tasks, some of them grueling, to become an infantryman.

“Canadian soldiers repeatedly pointed to low physical standards as a significant problem,” the Marine report said. “Most commanders and soldiers agreed that introducing occupation-specific, operationally relevant combat arms standards would be very helpful to both keep soldiers fit and to demonstrate that women (should they meet the standard) could operate on an equal footing with men.”

The report noted that, decades after the women-in-combat ban was lifted, Canadian women make up less than one-half of 1 percent of enlisted infantry members and of combat engineers, and less than 3 percent of the tank force.

Conversely, there are myths about the roles that women play in the Israel Defense Forces, which feminists hail as a place where women can do anything.

The IDF this year decided to retain a ban on women serving in the confined quarters of a tank. Women are restricted to support roles in special operations and are limited to service in only two light infantry border units.

“Integration of female soldiers into the IDF ground forces is far more limited than popularly believed in the U.S.,” the Marine Corps visitors found.
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There is more.

Women can contribute to the US military in many ways, but the number of women who could do so in combat units is probably very small.  Pushing them into those units will endanger not only them but the rest of the people in the units.