On Women in the Military

There's been more news than normal lately on the role of women in the military. Some want to further restrict their presence by barring them from forward support companies such as some supply, transport and medical units. I support this idea.

A few others want to completely remove women from military service. While I share much of the same values as those that support this position, I don't think this particular step is necessary.

When the general public thinks about women in the military they often picture them running an obstacle course with an M-16 in their hand. That does happen--women are too close to the tip of the spear in our military.

But many more women in the service are not. The Air Force, which I think has the highest percentage of women of any service, is a good example. Because of new advances in technology, only a small percentage of the force is in harm's way. New technology requires more people in the "tail" than in the "tooth".

Don't get me wrong. The lines between combat and support have been blurred and this puts our combat support units in greater danger--there are women assigned to these units. That's why I support the idea of restricting women from the forward support units.

But barring women from military service entirely is like barring women from any career--and that's a different subject.