Women in Combat

[Dave Coup]

I have to agree with the other old farts. There's a lot more to being a Combat Marine than just shooting a rifle and I still haven't met the woman or Woman Marine that packs the gear to do it.

[sparkie]

I admit there was a WM combat theoryI had heard about long ago. Goes like this. You put about 60 WMs in a barracks for about 6 months or so till their periods get in sync. Then let them loose at a certain time of the month, and they will slash and burn their way all the way to Peking. Don't know if it was ever tried, though.

[Marine84]

Yeah...............we DO have that inner "b!tch" chromosome - which helps ALOT sometimes.

[Ironrider]

There have been a couple of female cops I'd have as back up. They were just plain...mean, Hell they even scared me.....

[Parsecboy]

Were they hot?

[Ironrider]

We had a female cop a few years ago, cute,petite and was the meanest broad I ever met. She'd be the first to bodyslam anyone that got out of line. Wan't afraid of anyone or anything..

[One4Eddy]

ZZ'S NO ONE HAS SAID THAT,WOMEN MARINES;SOME OF THEM ARE THE MOST OUTSTANDING MARINES I'VE EVER SERVED WITH!REALLY CAN'T REMEMBER WHEN.(LOL)THE LAST THANG A MARINE GRUNT NEED'S IS TOO HAVE HIS POSITION GIVEN AWAY,ON A L.P.OR A KILLER TEAM;BECAUSE SUSIE ROTTEN CROTCH.IS ON HER MENSTRUALCYCLE,AND A LITTLE BREEZE BLEW THAT;WHIFF OF STANK DOWN WIND TO WHERE THE ENEMY GET'S A WHIFF AND COMPARMISES THE TEAM'S POSITION!!!FLY CHOPPER'S,BECOME MP'S;WHATEVER...JUST STAY OUTTA THE GRUNT'S,BECAUSE YOU WILL CAUSE DISRUPTION;AND GET GOOD MEN KILLED!!!

ILMAO! They'd smell your musty breath first. I've been a field MP for quite a while and our training is pretty damn decent. First I'm gonna say that on average female Marines are physically weaker than male Marines. You can't fight genetics. But there are always the exceptions. While you have some women that can go toe to toe with a man any day, you also have fat, nasty, slow male Marines that couldn't run a 24 minute 3 mile to save their life. Are they more qualified to be a grunt than a female? No Way! I think that more MOS' should have physical fitness requirements. Forget what gender they are, the question should be "Can you hang with the big dogs?"

[devilcat1775]

I doubt that The Government will allow women in Combat. Again i think that a man's natural reaction in very high strees situations is to protect woman. I know there are some pretty buff women out there but I think you will have a hard time finding one that is willing to thrust her Kbar through the brain stem of a enemy guard. Or pick up whats left of a team member arm or leg. Just dont think people have comsidered all the situations that women could find them selves in.

I agree with you. I am a female and would love to be a 03, but if it would cause more trouble and risk more mens life for me being there with them trying to protect me then I would rather not because I wouldnt want to see them die because of me. I guess I will just stick with MOS 3531 when I enlist.

[hrscowboy]

Thats right Jack you tellem bro no winein women crying to there mothers in the grunts..

[Ed Palmer]

MEDAL OF HONOR
'WALKER, DR. MARY E

Women have served in military conflict, in one position or another, since the American War of Independence. Now, women are in most, if not all parts of the US Military. Many have been awarded honors for their bravery and service. But only one has earned the right to wear the Medal of Honor.
Dr. Mary Edwards was a woman of firsts. Born Nov. 26, 1832 in Oswego, New York, she was the daughter of an abolitionist family. She went on to graduate the Syracuse Medical College in 1855. When war broke out, she tried to obtain an officer's commission but was turned away. Deciding to fight for the cause, she volunteered as an acting assistant surgeon, making her the first female surgeon in the US military. Her first duty was the US Patent Office Hospital in Washington.
She eventually went to the front lines as a field surgeon for two years, serving in Fredricksburg and Chattanooga (after the battle of Chickamuaga). In September 1863, Walker was finally appointed assistant surgeon in the Army of the Cumberland. She was then appointed assistant surgeon of the 52nd Ohio Infantry. During this assignment it is generally accepted that she also served as a spy. She continually crossed Confederate lines to treat civilians. She was taken prisoner in 1864 by Confederate troops and imprisoned in Richmond for four months until she was exchanged, with two dozen other Union doctors, for 17 Confederate surgeons. When she was released back to the 52nd Ohio, she spent the rest of the war practicing at a Louisville female prison and an orphan's asylum in Tennessee.
On November 11, 1865, President Johnson signed a bill to present Dr. Mary Edwards Walker with the Congressional Medal of Honor for Meritorious Service, in order to recognize her contributions to the war effort without awarding her an army commission. She was the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor. The order by President Johnson read as such:
'WALKER, DR. MARY E.
Rank and organization: Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon (civilian), U. S. Army. Places and dates: Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861; Patent Office Hospital, Washington, D.C., October 1861; Chattanooga, Tenn., following Battle of Chickomauga, September 1863; Prisoner of War, April 10, 1864_August 12, 1864, Richmond, Va.; Battle of Atlanta, September 1864. Entered service at: Louisville, Ky. Born: 26 November 1832, Oswego County, N.Y.
CITATION: WHEREAS IT APPEARS FROM OFFICIAL REPORTS THAT DR. MARY E. WALKER, A GRADUATE OF MEDICINE, "HAS RENDERED VALUABLE SERVICE TO THE GOVERNMENT. AND HER EFFORTS HAVE BEEN EARNEST AND LLNTIRIN~ IN A VARIETY OF WAYS," AND THAT SHE WAS ASSIGNED TO DUTY AND SERVED AS AN ASSISTANT SURGEON IN CHARGE OF FEMALE PRISONERS AT LOUISVILLE, KY., UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF MAJOR_GENERALS SHERMAN AND THOMAS, AND FAITHFULLY SERVED AS CONTRACT SURGEON IN THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES, AND HAS DEVOTED HERSELF WITH MUCH PATRIOTIC ZEAL TO THE SICK AND WOUNDED SOLIDERS, BOTH IN THE FIELD AND HOSPITALS, TO THE DETRIMENT OF HER OWN HEALTH, AND HAS ALSO ENDURED HARDSHIPS AS A PRISONER OF WAR FOUR MONTHS IN A SOUTHERN PRISON WHILE ACTING AS CONTRACT SURGEON; AND
WHEREAS BY REASON OF HER NOT BEING A COMMISSIONED OFFICER IN THE MILITARY SERVICE, A BREVET OR HONORARY RANK CANNOT, UNDER EXISTING LAWS, BE CONFERRED UPON HER; AND
WHEREAS IN THE OPINION OF THE PRESIDENT AN HONORABLE RECOGNITION OF HER SERVICES AND SUFFERINGS SHOULD BE MADE:
IT IS ORDERED, THAT A TESTIMONIAL THEREOF SHALL BE HEREBY MADE AND GIVEN TO THE SAID DR. MARY E. WALKER, AND THAT THE USUAL MEDAL OF HONOR FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICES BE GIVEN HER.
GIVEN UNDER MY HAND IN THE CITY OF WASHINGTON, D.C., THIS 11TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, A.D. 1865.'

IN 1917, CONGRESS CHANGED THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE MEDAL OF HONOR TO ONLY INCLUDE THOSE OF AN ACTIVE COMBAT DUTY, WHILE ENGAGING THE ENEMY, DURING WAR. IT WAS REQUESTED OF DR. EDWARDS TO RELINQUISH THE MEDAL, ALONG WITH OVER 900 OTHERS. SHE REFUSED AND WORE THE MEDAL UNTIL THE TIME OF HER DEATH, IN 1919.
FROM THE TIME OF EXITING THE DUTIES OF A MILITARY SURGEON UNTIL HER DEATH, SHE BECAME AN ADVOCATE FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS, AS WELL AS AN AUTHOR. IN 1977, BY REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION AN ARMY INQUIRY BOARD, AND SIGNED BY PRESIDENT CARTER, HER MEDAL OF HONOR WAS REINSTATED. DESPITE THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING HER CAREER AND HER POLITICS, DR. MARY WALKER WAS PROUD OF HER ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS A PHYSICIAN AND AN ADVOCATE FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS. AS SHE CONCLUDED IN 1897, "I AM THE ORIGINAL NEW WOMAN...WHY, BEFORE LUCY STONE, MRS. BLOOMER, ELIZABETH CADY STANTON AND SUSAN B. ANTHONY WERE—BEFORE THEY WERE, I AM. IN THE EARLY '40'S, WHEN THEY BEGAN THEIR WORK IN DRESS REFORM, I WAS ALREADY WEARING PANTS...I HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR THE BICYCLE GIRL TO WEAR THE ABBREVIATED SKIRT, AND I HAVE PREPARED THE WAY FOR THE GIRL IN KNICKERBOCKERS." NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE
On June 10, 1982, in her hometown, the US Postal Service commemorated her life with the issuance of a 20 cent stamp. http://americancivilwar.com/women/ma...ds_walker.html
__________________

[Roger Shepherd]

There to many other ways for women to help then be on the fornt lines, that could help out more in other places

[karen8857]

Dave there is not such thing as a former Marine oe x Marine. Once a Marine always a Marine