Right:Female recruits at Kapooka Army camp play Australian Rules football. There are many who agree with Greg Combet that women should not be barred from combat because of their sex, but only if they are physically or psychologically unfit.
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Arguments in favour of allowing women into all positions in the ADF
1. Women are already serving in combat positions in the ADFIt has been claimed that allowing suitable women into all positions in the armed forces would only require a small change as they can access the vast majority of roles and positions already.
Defence Personnel Minister Greg Combet has noted that 92 per cent of jobs within the ADF are already available to women and several have served in deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq and East Timor. Women now make up around 13 per cent of ADF personnel.
Australian Defence Association executive director Neil James has claimed that women are already on the frontline.
Mr James has stated, 'If it is a job that requires you to kill enemy male soldiers day in, day out, every day, women are forbidden from doing it. If it is a job that requires you to kill enemy soldiers occasionally, women can do it.'
It has also been stated that the distinction between full scale combat positions and the work women are currently performing is often a very minor one. The Tasmanian Mercury, in an editorial published on September 12, 2009, stated, 'In the war in Afghanistan, where front lines as such rarely exist, effectively women are there already. Those in combat support roles, such as medics, have to go on patrol in possibly hostile areas, dressed in flak jackets and carrying weapons, along with the rest of the troops.'
It has been claimed that in most areas of combat, the enemy doesn't distinguish between male and female soldiers. A1st brigade commander Brigadier Mick Krause has stated, 'There are no fronts and flanks. Every soldier in any area of operations is likely to be targeted.'
Trying to restrict women to defensive positions to avoid the risk of combat is ineffective in protecting women from the dangers of war. As of February 12, 2007, seventy-five U.S. military women had been killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan, and two had been captured as Prisoners of War. As of December 2, 2006, more than 430 women had been wounded in battle. The United States military is now training all troops in basic combat skills, since recent war experiences indicate that anyone can find himself or herself in close combat, regardless of whether they are specifically assigned to 'combat' or 'combat support' units.
2. In other countries, women have served in front line combat positions in the past and are doing so now
It has been claimed that women have successfully fought for their countries in front line combat positions in the past. One country frequently cited in this context is the Soviet Union during World War II. 800,000 women served in the Soviet military during World War II, of which nearly 70% saw front line action.
In 1950 during the Korean War, the Women's Army Corp was created. In 1951, the People's Republic of China began recruiting female military pilots. Bdtween 1953 and 1959 Cuban women fought in the Cuban Revolution lead by Celia Sanchez Mandulay, among them Hayd‚e Santamaria. Between 1958 and 1960, the Tibetan Buddhist nun Ani Pachen leds her clan in armed rebellion against the Chinese. In 1971, Taramon Bibi fought Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War. In 1979, Nora Astorga acted a guerilla fighter in the Nicaraguan Revolution. Between 1986 and 1987, Alice Auma led a rebellion against the Ugandan government forces. On January 1, 1994, Comandante Ramona, an officer of Zapatista Army of National Liberation, took control of San Crist¢bal de las Casas, a Mexican city.
It has also been noted that an increasing number of Western democracies are allowing women into full active combat positions. Countries that allow this include New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Israel, Sweden and Switzerland. Other nations allow female soldiers to serve in certain Combat Arms positions, such as the United Kingdom, which allows women to serve in Artillery roles, while still excluding them from units with a dedicated Infantry role.
3. Women will only be assigned front-line combat positions if they have passed tests showing they are physically able to do so
The Defence Science and Personnel Minister, Greg Combet, has stated that the Defence Science and Technology Organisation and Wollongong University in NSW is currently developing a set of 'physical employment standards' and evaluating the inventory of jobs in all defence arms.
Mr Combet has further stated, 'What it will enable is the evaluation on the basis of an objective set of physical criteria, people's capacity to undertake particular occupational roles and positions.'
The new tests may open up the opportunity for women to participate in all defence force roles, including frontline combat.
The new tests will involve a series of complex tests simulating combat situations. The chief Defence scientist Robert Clark has stated, 'Women were capable of passing the tests.
It's a potential replacement for what's going on at the moment. That is a basic fitness assessment which is how fast you can do a 2.4km run and how many push-ups and sit-ups you can do which is based on age and various factors.
The new test doesn't take age or gender into account at all, you're able to do the job or not in this particular employment protocol.'
The new tests will involve four tests measuring strength, aerobic capacity, endurance, power and speed and include carrying weights and body armour over distances. Any woman who can pass these tests will be considered fit to perform in those positions, including front-line combat positions for which the tests indicate fitness.
Professor Clark has stated, 'We are looking at how to objectively have physical standards that accurately measure a person's ability to perform a variety of jobs that make up a modern Australian Defence Force.'
It has been argued that while many men possess the physical strength and stamina to be in 'ground combat' positions, many other men do not. Men should not be deemed qualified for physical demands of combat positions on the basis of their gender and women who possess the requisite physical strength and stamina should not be excluded from combat assignments on the basis of their gender.
Instead, eligibility should turn on whether the recruit - male or female - meets the physical qualifications for the job. Again, physical qualification is currently based on whether the recruit can complete the initial training for the assigned specialty.
A gender-neutral policy would allow the most capable force to be assembled. All potential recruits would be screened as individuals, rather than by eliminating one group of potential recruits solely on the basis of a stereotype or generalisation. Military effectiveness, and not gender, would be the sole criteria for assignment policies.
4. Women combatants may have personal qualities which would be useful in contemporary warfare
It has been claimed that where warfare involves winning and retaining the support of civilian populations, women may have qualities such as a greater capacity for empathy which could be an advantage.
An editorial published on September 12, 2009, in the Tasmanian Mercury stated, 'Besides, women could bring different perspectives and talents to the job. Most combat troops are not engaged in set-piece battles between conventional armies any more. Much of their work involves dealing with insurgents who live among civilian populations.
Soldiers have to handle the delicate business of winning the hearts and minds of local people. Having women in this situation could be very helpful, especially if the troops are dealing with civilian women.'
All personnel wearing in the armed forces must have some basic level of physical strength to ensure they can defend themselves in battle. However, it has been claimed, a capable combat soldier must possess more than just physical strength. Skill, motivation, and a fighting spirit are also crucial for the military personnel, and all of these characteristics are gender-blind.
Recently United States Army and Marine leadership have been emphasizing additional crucial traits like judgment, discipline, restraint, and intellect.
Former Marine Corps Commandant General Charles Krulak has written about the 'strategic corporal' who has to be ready to fight a three-block war. On any given day, in any contingency, that corporal may be dealing with hostile acts on one block, intervening to prevent conflict on another block, and providing humanitarian assistance on the third block.
5. Allowing women into front-line combat positions would improve recruitment
It has been claimed that allowing women into combat positions would improve the recruitment of women into the armed forces.
The Defence Science and Personnel Minister, Greg Combet, has stated, 'A priority of the government is to improve the recruitment and retention of women in the ADF.
My own view is that all categories should be open to women. The only exceptions should be where the physical demands cannot be met according to criteria that are determined on the basis of scientific analysis, rather than assumptions about gender.'
Mr Combet has also indicated that the adoption of new employment standards would also help guide recruits to occupations for which they were most physically suited and could also potentially facilitate access to occupations traditionally closed to particular groups on the basis of 'task physical readiness'.