How Will the Mental and Physical Health of Military Moms Change If Congress Allows Females in Combat?

Should Sacramento lift gender restrictions when it comes to military women going into combat? After all, you have the "don't ask, don't tell" restrictions lifted. So should the restriction also be lifted regarding sending military women into combat? How do you feel about that, especially for military women in Sacramento?

A military advisory commission recommends that the Pentagon change a policy that bans women from serving in combat units. What do you think the outcome of this debate will be? Check out the latest Fox News article, January 14, 2011 discussing this issue, "Women Should Be Allowed in Combat Units, Report Says - FoxNews.com."

According to the January 14, 2011 Huffington Post article, "Now It's Time to Lift the Restrictions on Women's Military Service," The time has arrived "to lift the remaining gender restrictions on military service, too."

Take a look at the action regarding diversity in military leadership that took place in December 2009. According to the Huffington Post article, both the Military Leadership Diversity Commission established by Congress in 2008 and the nearly 60-year-old Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services recommended that military women be allowed to go into combat.

The Huffington Post article of January 14, 2011 noted that "both panels based their recommendations on findings that the current restrictions on women's military service are both difficult to apply and outmoded, given the nature of warfare today and the positive performance of military women in a variety of vital combat roles."

After all, Congress requires only that the secretary of defense provide 30 days notice of any change in current policy to both the House and Senate. Does this frighten military wives in Sacramento? Or does it interest military women here in Sacramento or anywhere else? What's your opinion of women in the military being allowed to go into combat, if the change is approved in the future? Are you afraid of being drafted and sent into combat if you're a woman who would rather stay home and raise your children? Will it force you to marry at 18 to avoid being drafted, if the draft should ever be restored in the distant future?

And if you're already a Sacramento military woman or wife, how do you feel and what do you think about women in combat? How would it change you emotionally and physically to be sent into combat soon after you graduated from high school when you looked to the military as a career stepping stone, as many men do? Should women go into combat when there's a war that you agree or disagree with? And why does the pentagon want women in combat? Perhaps there aren't enough men listing in the services as yet?

Also check the article, Pentagon Wants Women In Combat. See the blog, Women in combat‎ - Coastal Courier. According to the Coastal Courier's blog, " a military advisory panel appears poised to recommend allowing female troops to serve in combat units without any restrictions, calling the current prohibition an out-of-date idea that unnecessarily discriminates against women.
If approved by military officials, the move could open front-line posts to military women for the first time."

In Sacramento military women and wives have been well-informed that either U.S. law or Pentagon policy has prohibited female troops from serving in any unit whose primary mission is direct ground combat, although they may serve in combat support roles. During World War II, experienced female pilots flew and also tested planes within the U.S. to allow male pilots to fly combat missions overseas. See WASP - Women Pilots of World War II.

In fact a few months ago, Sacramento female pilots who flew missions in WW II were honored. Check out the article honoring female pilots in Sacramento who flew various missions during World War II, "Female pilots honored for service during World War II | News."

Currently, in January 2011, the Military Leadership Diversity Commission, established by Congress two years ago, issued the recommendation as part of a draft report on diversity in the services. The final report is due to lawmakers this spring, and commission members are meeting this week in Virginia to debate final changes. Come the spring in Sacramento, what changes will the final report contain? If you're a military woman or wife in Sacramento today, how do you feel if Congress okays women to go into combat?

Will this create more service people serving the nation with similar outcomes to countries that already have women in combat? Or will this phenomenon actually encourage more women to marry earlier and get pregnant to avoid the possibility of getting drafted? Will women in combat lead to the draft being restored, this time for women, or would just the opposite occur? Can you speculate or predict what the future for Sacramento military women might be? And did Congress ask the women in the services what they would prefer? Did anyone consult the soldier who's doing the actual work?

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