Women in the Military

2 Pages 595 Words

Well, this is very interesting in that over the past fifteen years or so, women, in general have taken on increased responsibility in the Military. With the on going war in Iraq, women have seen more of the battlefield then ever before. Many are fighting side by side with men in the on going pursuit for freedom. Since Desert Storm women have been flying combat missions with the Air Force in multi million dollars aircrafts, once off limits to them because of their sex. The military, as a whole, has made large strides toward gender equality.
The once was a time when women could only hold certain jobs in the military. They were administrative and logistical fields. Many acted as secretaries to Officers and handles office systems. They were nurses and dental hygienists. To some there were simply there to handles the light work and take care of their male counterparts. Never seeing the field of battle or even held a weapon. There were not even properly trained on using a rifle or bayonet. When it came to combat, this was off limits, even though, in times like Vietnam, there were losing there lives in war just like the men.
Well, that was then, this is now. In the early 1990’s, with the U.S. led attack on Iraq to kick off operation Desert Storm, women began seeing their first tastes of combat. Fighting side by side with males and dropping bombs all over the capital from fighter jets. Women were fully integrated into the military. Jobs fields that were off limits opened there doors and allowed women to join under this job fields. No longer were they just nurses, now they were surgeons. No longer were they the secretary, now they were the officer with their own secretary. Now, instead of just the hygienist, they were the dentist. Women were able to do just about anything they wanted in the military.
While deployed to the Middle East, I had the luxury of witnessing first hand there contributions. They slept, and ate in the same desert a...