Should Women Be Included In The Draft?

[Didymus]

There is no draft. There will never be a draft in the U.S. again. It's not a profitable form of warfare, and profit is a major component of current U.S. foreign policy..

[Didymus]

[quote name='Justin86' post='1685015' date='Oct 24 2008, 11:59 AM']Being that I'm a sexist male pig I would prefer that the draft be women-only actually, as I certainly don't want to die. Of course, I would want to sleep with the hot one's before they fight, but you know, its kinda a sucky situation either way so I'm ok if the government can't give me that. Hey, not everyone can be in the military, and surely some of those have to be babes.

Seriously though, I'm really not for any draft at all in today's world. It would force too many people who don't want to be military in with me, and that's not a situation I want to deal with.[/quote]

good point.. the second point that is..

[IcePrincessKRS]

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1684905' date='Oct 24 2008, 10:27 AM']My father who served in WWII, including a short stint in a POW situation, and I had many discussions about this. We can handle the blood and gore just as easily as men. We were the ones responsible for caring for the dead bodies of family members until relatively recently. We were nurses, midwives and butchers. If you don't think we are capable of extreme action, go watch a little league game and see how the mom's react when someone hits one of their babies with a pitch. There are some jobs that women are actually better suited for than men, and that's fighter pilot and submarines because they are usually smaller than men.

When push comes to shove though, men are usually stronger, larger, and have more stamina. My dad's position was on the line, in the trench, he was afraid that a male's inbred feeling to protect females might come out at the wrong time. It wouldn't just endanger the woman, it would endanger the men too if they were thinking more about protecting a female colleague than in doing his job. In summer field exercises while I was in forestry school, there were 19 guys and 5 girls in my class. We had to divide into teams of three. Three of us girls decided to form an all female unit. They didn't want to let us, but we persisted. The other two women spent the summer holding the clipboard while their male teammates got to carry the equipment and learn how to use it. We lugged our own equipment, and learn a lot more. We also broke down easier. I'm not talking about crying, I'm talking about being able to finish all the tasks assigned. We got worn out or injured easier.

So anyway, I voted that females shouldn't be included in the draft. Those that are capable and inclined to serve can and should, but I'm still conflicted about sending them to the line. My female pride says that we should be allowed to do anything we want to, but the reality is that we are physically different.[/quote]

I totally agree. If a woman wants to enlist and makes it through basic more power to her. But to institute a draft and force anyone, especially a bunch of women, to join is ridiculous. I am against a draft, but I am particularly against women in a draft. I largely base this on training and physical ability. Too many special cases would be made, allowances so that they could keep up. It would make our military weak. We would have numbers but not strength.

I know that there are plenty of women who serve and do very well at their jobs. At Mass a few weeks ago I saw a female full bird Colonel. (She was a Col. not a Lt. Col.) I was impressed. But, I also think that the requirements for females in the Army (not sure how it goes across other branches) is pathetic. For a woman the minimum number of push ups she must do to pass her PT test is 13. THIRTEEN!!! Men must do 42, [i]minimum.[/i] I am afraid that we're wimping out our military so as not to be "sexist". If a woman wants to play with the boys let her, but I think if she wants it to be equal she needs to BE equal. I know that physically men and women work differently so there probably should be some difference in what is required, but personally I think that women are being let off easy. Example: My husband graduated from Officer Candidate School yesterday. He ought to have been able to graduate with honors in the top third of his class. He didn't. You know why? Because they booted out a bunch of the men to make room for the top 1/3 of the women. To me top of the class is top of the class. You shouldn't get honors if you haven't earned them.

[Justin86]

[quote name='IcePrincessKRS' post='1685049' date='Oct 25 2008, 01:42 AM']I know that there are plenty of women who serve and do very well at their jobs. At Mass a few weeks ago I saw a female full bird Colonel. (She was a Col. not a Lt. Col.) I was impressed. But, I also think that the requirements for females in the Army (not sure how it goes across other branches) is pathetic. For a woman the minimum number of push ups she must do to pass her PT test is 13. THIRTEEN!!! Men must do 42, [i]minimum.[/i] I am afraid that we're wimping out our military so as not to be "sexist". If a woman wants to play with the boys let her, but I think if she wants it to be equal she needs to BE equal. I know that physically men and women work differently so there probably should be some difference in what is required, but personally I think that women are being let off easy. My husband graduated from Officer Candidate School yesterday. He ought to have been able to graduate with honors in the top third of his class. He didn't. You know why? Because they booted out a bunch of the men to make room for the top 1/3 of the women. To me top of the class is top of the class.[/quote]
But, but, the military must be diverse!

[Lil Red]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1685009' date='Oct 24 2008, 09:50 AM']What draft?[/quote]
+J.M.J.+

[CatherineM]

IcePrincess-Tell your husband congratulations on the butter bar. My dad always said medals are nice, but stripes and bars, you can spend.

[IcePrincessKRS]

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1685135' date='Oct 24 2008, 03:51 PM']IcePrincess-Tell your husband congratulations on the butter bar. My dad always said medals are nice, but stripes and bars, you can spend.[/quote]

Thanks, I will tell him. I am really proud of him. It was a long 13 weeks but he did great. Feels nice to have a goal accomplished.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='IcePrincessKRS' post='1685142' date='Oct 24 2008, 04:01 PM'] Thanks, I will tell him. I am really proud of him. It was a long 13 weeks but he did great. Feels nice to have a goal accomplished.[/quote]
Congratulations!!!
I am not sure how it would be done, but I think everyone should have to serve 2 years of service to their country. I don't care if they are teaching little kids or cutting trees. Service should be automatic from 18- 20.

[eagle_eye222001]

[quote name='fidei defensor' post='1685000' date='Oct 24 2008, 11:43 AM']No one is wired to kill, that would be against our nature, which God created. I doubt God made anyone to kill.[/quote]

Okay, "wired to kill" is too strong. I think that men are more likely to kill though. If you look at crime statistics, and what-not. Which sex plays the most violent video games? Don't know if that is applicable as the violence is different. Still, I don't see many girls wanting to play shooting games of any type generally.

Is there studies on this at all?

[Didacus]

I can agree with many comments posted. That woman can go to war and in that sense can be included in the draft.

However, ultimately, I believe men only should be drafted (for fighting positions). It is simply the natural role of men to do so.

[HisChildForever]

[quote name='eagle_eye222001' post='1684834' date='Oct 24 2008, 02:25 AM'].......and I think women can be a distraction for men in missions and what-not.[/quote]

I certainly hope you are not implying that women would serve as a [i]sexual[/i] distraction - that is, male soldiers would be more interested in flirting/starting a relationship than concentrating on their duty. Honestly, any man deliberately seeking a relationship (with a woman) while, for example, over in Iraq seriously has his priorities wrong. (I'm not saying it's wrong if you meet each other and really hit it off, I'm saying if a man starts making fantasies up in his head.) It would be the man's fault, not the woman's for simply wanting to also protect her country.

[quote]However, women tend to be the more emotional and carry more of the caring factor that all families need.[/quote]

I'll partially agree with this, because our hormones can be nasty before/during/after certain times of the month. However, society has deemed it acceptable for a woman to cry in public, and not for a man. Or, generally speaking, for a woman to be more open with her emotions that a man. Why do you think the suicide rate is higher for men than for women, particularly adolescents/young adults? Because the males who commit suicide ensure that they aren't going to make it (gunshot wounds, hanging) whereas females are more likely to try overdosing on household pain pills. The males of our society are told to toughen up, "be a "man," and with this attitude, an adolescent male is not going to feel comfortable crying to his parents, or seeking out a therapist. These emotions build up and oftentimes the end result is suicide. So saying that women are more emotional than men is not necessarily true. We're just [i]allowed[/i] to be emotional.

[quote]Are the prisons filled mostly with women or men? Why?[/quote]

The answer is men because men are more aggressive and violent than women - this points back to what I was saying earlier. It's practically acceptable for a young man to get into a violent fight, to race his car like a lunatic, and to take out his emotions in a "manly" way. The current thought is that unemployed men commit crimes because they are ashamed of their financial situation since society calls them the "breadwinner." But by the way, the amount of female inmates in our country have been increasing, it's just that women do not commit as many violent crimes as men do.

Edited October 25, 2008 by HisChildForever

[philothea]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1685009' date='Oct 24 2008, 11:50 AM']What draft?[/quote]
The NFL I assume....

And srsly, I gotta say no. Have you seen those dudes?!? They're huge!

[picchick]

Ok, here is a common sense answer:

If I were fighting in a war, who would I want fighting next to me? Someone who joined voluntarily or someone who was drafted?

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1685565' date='Oct 25 2008, 03:15 AM']Congratulations!!!
I am not sure how it would be done, but I think everyone should have to serve 2 years of service to their country. I don't care if they are teaching little kids or cutting trees. Service should be automatic from 18- 20.[/quote]
Don't some countries do that? A friend in Italy had to serve in some capacity for 2 years I think, and she chose to do so by working a government position, if I'm not mistaken. I tend to agree with you about this, as I do think that would be a good idea.

[quote name='picchick' post='1685831' date='Oct 25 2008, 08:18 AM']Ok, here is a common sense answer:

If I were fighting in a war, who would I want fighting next to me? Someone who joined voluntarily or someone who was drafted?[/quote]
Exactly.

Edited October 25, 2008 by Archaeology cat

[CatherineM]

[quote name='philothea' post='1685808' date='Oct 25 2008, 12:46 AM']The NFL I assume....

And srsly, I gotta say no. Have you seen those dudes?!? They're huge![/quote]

Funny thing is that most pro athletes couldn't pass the physical to join the military. They are either overweight, or have had an injury repaired that would keep them out, not to mention the drug screens. At the military academies, the linemen are given a pass on making weight while on the football team. To compete in the NCAA they have to weigh at least 275, or they'd get killed in the trenches. When the season is over, they are given a certain amount of time to lose the weight or get kicked out of the academy.