It's time to stop caterwauling about the roles of military women!
Frankly this constant press milking a dead cow over women in combat is getting tiresome.
Yes, sadly, military women are injured, and killed, while serving in hostile territory - as are military men, both of whom chose to voluntarily serve their country.
War is politics with weapons and when this nation -for whatever reason - decides to launch an aggressive "Operation" on foreign soil both military men and women will be in danger.
But the media with it's "fools rush in" mentality has chosen to magnify the deaths and injuries of military women and in doing so has created a distorted and grossly unfair picture of their role as an integral part of the Armed Forces.
At the risk of mixing "apples and oranges" where is the media comparison in covering the following:
The United States accounts for 70 percent of all female homicides, and 84 percent of all female firearm homicides. Some 4,000 American females are murdered each year.
Over 1200 women are killed in domestic violence incidents.
About one-third of all motor vehicle deaths in a given year are females. In one year the number of women involved in fatal crashes was 14,937.
But that is really not the point - the real point is this.
American military women are the most unique women in this country.
They are:
- Unique women because they have chosen to serve and in so doing have to endure an initial form of "culture shock" unknown in any other profession.
- Special young women who have decided to take a path not as easy for females as are many other job choices.
- Strong women who have to undergo strenuous mental and physical training that many men will not be able to finish.
-Intelligent women who can train to fly a multi-million dollar jet aircraft, command a ship at sea in hostile waters, lead an Army Support Brigade in Kuwait or Iraq or command our return to space!
- Courageous women who join the military knowing that they may be serving in harm's way.
- Patriotic women who wear their uniforms proudly - the gals with the "Stars Spangled heart' who still get chills as they salute during the National Anthem.
She is not in the service to "Free a Man to Fight" anymore - she is in the military to fight, if necessary, along with her fellow servicemen.
The American military woman will be all that she can be - if and only if - the politicians, the righteous religious folks, the anti-feminists and the palavering press will allow them to serve proudly in all facets of the Armed Forces!
TOP GUNS - U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Julie Ayres, Capt. Mary Melfi, and Capt. Tally Parham, three of the five female fighter pilots from the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, that flew combat missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. USAF photo by SSgt. Derrick Goode.
