Female Soldiers Sue U.S. in Challenge to Combat Limits

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Bloomberg:

Two female soldiers asked a federal judge to throw out the U.S. military’s restrictions on women in combat, claiming the policy violates their constitutional rights.

U.S. Army reservists Jane Baldwin and Ellen Haring, in a lawsuit filed today in Washington, said policies excluding them from assignments “solely because they are women” violate their right to equal protection guaranteed by the Constitution’s 5th Amendment. The complaint names Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Army Secretary John McHugh as defendants.

“This limitation on plaintiffs’ careers restricts their current and future earnings, their potential for promotion and advancement, and their future retirement benefits,” the women said in the complaint filed by Christopher Sipes of Covington & Burling LLP in Washington.

The Pentagon in February announced a change in policy that opened more than 14,000 additional positions to women across the armed services, most of them in the Army. Still, it stopped short of allowing women to serve in so-called ground combat assignments, including special forces and long range reconnaissance operations.

George Little, a Pentagon spokesman, declined to comment on the lawsuit. He said in an e-mail that Panetta “is strongly committed to examining the expansion of roles for women in the U.S. military, as evidenced by the recent step of opening up thousands of more assignments to women.”

Women on Duty

Women make up about 14.5 percent of active-duty military personnel, according to Pentagon figures, and the Army is continuing to review whether infantry positions should be open to women in the future. It is also considering whether to let female soldiers attend its elite Ranger School.

Women increasingly have been exposed to combat as traditional front lines of battle have become blurred in wars such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Army spokesman George Wright said women assigned to those arenas “have served with distinction and honor in combat since the beginning of hostilities more than a decade ago,” earning awards such as the Combat Action Badge, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart. Wright declined to comment on the lawsuit.

________

 

I'm not against women serving in combat. Many already have. I'm just not sure if a lawsuit is the right way to go about it.

[Draggingtree]

PJ Media

 

 

Will Campaign Shift from ‘War on Women’ to ‘Women Who War’?

 

There are new challenges to the Pentagon's ban on women in combat, and public attitudes show it's not the Dems' issue to own.

by

Bridget Johnson

May 29, 2012 - 12:41 pm

 

The 2012 race for the White House may be inundated by a “war on women” meme, but the question of “women who war” could also loom big for President Obama and Mitt Romney as members of Congress renew a push to lift barriers for women in combat.

The Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act, moved out of the Armed Services Committee before the upper chamber left for recess, included the wording of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-N.Y.) legislation that would require the Pentagon to report to Congress on steps to repeal the ground combat exclusion policy.

“Women are already fighting and dying for our country shoulder-to-shoulder with their brothers in uniform on the frontlines, but without the formal recognition that is essential for them to advance and obtain the benefits they have earned,” Gillibrand said. “Just like it was wrong to discriminate against service members because of whom they love, it is also wrong to deny combat roles to qualified women solely because of their gender.”

Companion legislation was introduced in the House nearly two weeks ago by Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.). “Though the Pentagon has taken some small steps to remove restrictions on female service, they have not yet made a real commitment to a formal repeal,” Sanchez said. “It’s time to do what is right and recognize these women for what they do every day in Afghanistan and around the world. They have amazing potential and it’s time we develop their talents

 

Congressional Caucus on Women in the Military Read More http://pjmedia.com/blog/will-campaign-shift-from-war-on-women-to-women-who-war/

[SrWoodchuck]

I agree with WVR.

 

I look at Israel, and they don't seem to have a problem.

 

I understand that men would not want to see women killed & wounded, and there may be security issues when unit safety might be compromised by loyalties of "love." There are also the obvious problems with the level of torture & rape that women would have to endure if captured.....but really, considering the islamic animals we are fighting.....I'm not sure that men would be treated differently. So, then we come to the sexual problems that arise from men & women in close proximity.......although ships at sea deal with that problem now.

 

Litigious society that we are.....we need to involve lawyers in the mix & make ever more twisted law & regulation.....instead of having a focused purpose.....fighting America's enemies.

[Draggingtree]

War for Women Takes House

 

GOP Vies for Vote, Introduces Bill to Ban Sex-Selective Abortion

• By Jonathan Strong
  
• Roll Call Staff
  
• May 30, 2012, 6:50 p.m.
  

 

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (left) attended a Democratic Steering and Policy Committee hearing on Rep. Rosa Delauro’s pay equity legislation on Wednesday.

As both parties vie for the all-important female vote, the trench warfare on issues affecting women will continue this week as the House votes on a GOP-sponsored abortion bill and Democrats push pay equity legislation.

Despite rhetorical wars over working women vs. stay-at-home mothers and legislative battles over the Violence Against Women Act, it’s unclear whether either side is making any political gains, but that doesn’t mean they won’t keep trying.

With a traditional advantage among women, Democrats have largely been the aggressors thus far on the issue, attacking the Republican version of VAWA, for instance.

But Republicans have upped the ante by bringing to the floor a bill to ban sex-selective abortion. Read More

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_143/war-for-women-takes-house-214943-1.html?pos=hln

[Evad]

Give these 2 a gun and drop 'em in a hot zone.

Let 'em go at it.

[Draggingtree]

Do women want the toughest fighting jobs?

 

 

 

 

By Pauline Jelinek - The Associated Press

Posted : Saturday Jan 5, 2013 10:17:29 EST

 

 

 

WASHINGTON — If or when the Pentagon lets women become infantry troops — the country's front-line warfighters — how many women will want to?

 

The answer is probably not many.

 

Interviews with a dozen female soldiers and Marines showed little interest in the toughest fighting jobs. They believe they'd be unable to do them, even as the Defense Department inches toward changing its rules to allow women in direct ground combat jobs.

 

In fact, the Marines asked women last year to go through its tough infantry officer training to see how they would fare. Only two volunteered and both failed to complete the fall course. None has volunteered for the next course this month. The failure rate for men is roughly 25 percent.

 

For the record, plenty of men don't want to be in the infantry either, though technically could be assigned there involuntarily, if needed. That's rarely known to happen.

 

"The job I want to do in the military does not include combat arms," Army Sgt. Cherry Sweat said of infantry, armor and artillery occupations. She installed communications equipment in 2008 in Iraq but doesn't feel mentally or physically prepared for fighting missions.