In the week I was teaching a Search and Rescue Camp up in the mountains to middle schoolers, I met a high school senior who carried me (a 5'9 woman, and I'm not tiny) down a mountain all by herself during a demonstration for the kids attending the camp. Talking with her more, I learned that she had dreamed of being in the Navy upon graduating high school, but she said there were a few caveats for women.
Upon visiting the Navy's "Frequently Asked Questions" page, I noticed that there is a whole section on questions about women joining the Navy. The page states that, "Women are free to apply for and hold any job in the Navy. However, by law there are two communities that women are not allowed to join: the Navy SEAL and Navy SWCC communities. Also, due to privacy and living space considerations, women may not apply for Enlisted positions aboard submarines."
Why?
Further research has surfaced several opinions as to why women can't serve in some of these communities. The most popular opinions are: on average, women tend to score lower on physical fitness tests relative to men, there would have to be separate latrines and showers for the different sexes, and there could possibly be sexual tension between the men and women in the combat units.
However, it's not only the Navy that doesn't allow women to serve in certain communities; there are currently 200,000 positions within the military that are only exclusive to men.
Yet, in an article that a Capt. Lauren F. Serrano wrote about women in the Marines, she states, "I am a female Marine officer and I do not believe women should serve in the infantry". Her reasoning? Captain Serrano states that she believes women are very different from men, not just physically. She argues that the Marine infantry needs to be the strongest, better mentally prepared, and physically fit individuals; from this, she concludes that women should not join the infantry. In a National Public Radio segment, "Looking for a Few Good (Combat-Ready) Women," it was stated that women make up around 7 percent of the Marine's force, and have not been "rushing to serve in ground combat." Many women who currently are involved with the military do not wish to serve in combat; however, there are several women who desire to serve their country in combat along men.
According to Air Force Captain Kirsten Franke, women should be allowed to defend in any military community, “To keep someone out of something... or restrict them when they're capable still doesn't make sense to me,". Captain Franke states that restricting women to certain jobs within the military is very archaic. The Service Women's Action Network's (or SWAN) mission is to have occupational standards and tasks within the service that are gender-neutral.
With the Combat Exclusion Policy coming to an end in January of 2013, which allows women to fight in ground combat along men, gender equality within the military is progressing; upon questioning the repeal of the policy, the input received was unanimous. The end to this policy would mean an end to an era of only men fighting in ground combat, and "fully integrate women into every job field, or request an exception to policy from the Secretary of Defense,". However, if this statement were completely true, then the Navy SEALs and the Navy SWCC community would not be exclusive to men.
While many strides toward gender equality within the military have been taken, there are still many more strides to go.
