Women in combat situations

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, a liberal Democrat, has decided that women should be used in combat situations on the front lines.

In 1994, the Joint Chiefs of Staff instituted a rule that banned women from being assigned to ground combat units.

Panetta’s liberal experiment gives the military branches until 2016 to explain why this is not a good idea and stop it.

This is a terrible idea.

Women have served in America’s military since the War for Independence – but not on the front lines.

Generally, men are bigger and stronger and have a greater capacity for combat. And if you mix men and women in combat units, there is the probability that men will have to compensate for the women’s physical capabilities.

Right now, in basic training, women are held to a lighter standard in physical testing because they are generally smaller and not as strong as their male counterparts.

And what if a female soldier is captured? The aspect of rape is horrifying to most Americans. Certainly, a male soldier could be tortured and killed in captivity but women present an added vulnerability.

Troops in combat situation need to rely on each other without distraction. To have a bunch of men in their 20s grouped with women is an invitation to sexual misconduct (so is homosexuality, by the way) and will lead to big problems. Men and women recruits don’t bunk together at basic training.

Despite what Hollywood and political correctness preach, the elite special forces of the U.S. military are better served with men in those unique positions.

Women should not be excluded from military service but not on the front lines.

Panetta and Obama are really off base on this social experiment.