The Australian Government has today given notice that all combat positions in the Australian Military will be open to female soldiers, sailors and aircraftswomen from now on. Up until now women have been barred from serving in infantry, artillery and engineer units. I disagree with the government on this.
It seems to me that decisions like this don’t have a basis in military thought, it’s merely that someone sitting in an office somewhere thinks that women are equal to men so all fighting units should be open to women thus making them equal. It is political correctness gone mad and completely unnecessary. The sure fact is that physically, women are not as as capable as men. If they were women would play in the AFL, NRL, club,state and international cricket. There is a reason that women and men compete separately in most sports. They are simply physically incapable of matching men in these pursuits. That is a fact.
Now before anyone jumps down my throat I think women are the equal of men in just about every other respect. I have met women who would run rings around most men in nearly every aspect of life and I have the greatest respect for the female of the species but I think this is a bridge too far.
There have been recent scandals in the Royal Australian Navy to do with fraternisation and it seems that the current scandal at the Australian Defence Force Academy to do with the same has drawn this government into a flawed, knee-jerk reaction. I think the reasoning behind it is to try to change the culture of the Defence Force to be more open to and respectful to the females in the ranks. To my thinking this decision will only make the problem worse and has the potential to erode the efficiency of our combat arm.
Now I have never been a soldier so I may well be talking crap but I am not sure that when my life is danger and my weapons pit is looking vulnerable to being overrun and the prospect of hand to hand fighting is real that I would want GI Jane with me instead of GI Joe.
I’m sure there are some women who could do the job capably but not many so a problem may never arise. However I think the safety and efficiency of our men in combat should never be compromised. This is a bad decision and I hope the government doesn’t push ahead with it.
It seems to me that decisions like this don’t have a basis in military thought, it’s merely that someone sitting in an office somewhere thinks that women are equal to men so all fighting units should be open to women thus making them equal. It is political correctness gone mad and completely unnecessary. The sure fact is that physically, women are not as as capable as men. If they were women would play in the AFL, NRL, club,state and international cricket. There is a reason that women and men compete separately in most sports. They are simply physically incapable of matching men in these pursuits. That is a fact.
Now before anyone jumps down my throat I think women are the equal of men in just about every other respect. I have met women who would run rings around most men in nearly every aspect of life and I have the greatest respect for the female of the species but I think this is a bridge too far.
There have been recent scandals in the Royal Australian Navy to do with fraternisation and it seems that the current scandal at the Australian Defence Force Academy to do with the same has drawn this government into a flawed, knee-jerk reaction. I think the reasoning behind it is to try to change the culture of the Defence Force to be more open to and respectful to the females in the ranks. To my thinking this decision will only make the problem worse and has the potential to erode the efficiency of our combat arm.
Now I have never been a soldier so I may well be talking crap but I am not sure that when my life is danger and my weapons pit is looking vulnerable to being overrun and the prospect of hand to hand fighting is real that I would want GI Jane with me instead of GI Joe.
I’m sure there are some women who could do the job capably but not many so a problem may never arise. However I think the safety and efficiency of our men in combat should never be compromised. This is a bad decision and I hope the government doesn’t push ahead with it.
Strange Notations From a Laborious Life 