Cotton And Combat Women

A few weeks ago freshman Congressman Tom Cotton created a bit of stir when he appeared on a national right-wing talk show and proclaimed women should not be allowed to serve in the combat roles.

In early January Cotton said the following on Laura Ingraham's talk show:

“To have women serving in infantry, though, could impair the mission-essential tasks of those units. And that’s been proven in study after study, it’s nature, upper body strength, and physical movements, and speed, and endurance, and so forth.”

To his credit, Cotton has actually served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in this case I believe he is incorrect.

Today, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta made clear women should have a larger role in the military when he lifted the ban on women serving in combat roles.

Every position will not open automatically to women as each military branch must first do an assessment phase where they “will examine all of its jobs and units not currently integrated and then produce a timetable in which it can integrate them.”

If having women serve in combat roles is good enough for the Israeli military, then it should be good enough for our military. In that country, 92% of all positions in the Israel Defense Forces are open to women soldiers and military service is mandatory for men and women.

I spent six years in the Army Reserves and while I never served in combat, I can say that the women in my unit were every bit as strong and tough as the men in my company. And in some cases, more so.

There is a concern that women may not be able to meet combat role's physical requirements and frankly that is a consideration that must be taken into account.

However, if a female soldier can meet the same current physical and mental standards as a male soldier, then exactly what is the problem? We've dealt with this issue to a certain extent with female firefighters. Prospective female firefighters are subjected to the same rigorous physical standards as men, as they should be since in a blazing inferno you cannot have a firefighter who can't save those in danger. The same principle should apply to all military roles that may soon be open to women.

The lifting of the ban also aises an interesting topic we must consider: Should women be legally required to register for the draft?

Men are legally required to register and there are penalties for not doing so. If women can soon serve in combat roles, should they not also be required to register for the draft? In my opinion, yes.

I'm curious to know Congressman Cotton's response to the lifting of the ban. I've put a call in to his office and will update if I hear anything.