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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 1992)
i Opinion Monday, September 28,1992 The Battalion Page 7 Should women have combat roles in America's armed forces? i home f: vvestemS ariooc- [ninuteto ■th down iiistonlH cesbeol "The things that are important, such as courage, integrity, loyalty, luck and determi nation, those things are not dis tributed on chro mosomes." - Lt. Col. Rhonda Cornum In 1429, as Eng land pummeled French forces dur ing the Hundred Years' War and threatened the French crown, a young impale® 11 i haler fo^ : onfident? :tory. st formii a Must* |/ 0man appeared before the court of Th e " King Charles VII and asked him for per- and re)# jniission to lead his army. Overcoming thousands of years of skepticism, Joan of Arc led the French forces to a victory d theU‘- over the English at Patay. picture^ !• j n one wa y followed in the footsteps of that woman warrior. Women have served as volun teers, as nurses, as workers. They have tserved in the military. Now we should let them serve in combat. The futile whinings that "women ouldn't hack it in a war" buckle under the weight of truth. In an article on women's health, Edward Dolnick as- erts that though women have tradi- jionally been unable to compete with en in athletic "battles of the sexes," omen display greater stamina in en- lurance competition. Dolnick cites S lamong others, Ann Trason, the first ■woman to win a mixed-sex national khampionship. Trason ran 143 miles in a 24-hour endurance race and outdis- janced her nearest competitor, a male, ifl |iy four miles. Debunking the myth that a woman's KM >hysical shape prevents her from suc- Ujjjp lessfully maneuvering a combat plane, ateinalf medical evidence released this year Proves that women can handle combat ilanes as well as men, if not better. Though women traditionally have ess upper body strength than do their nale counterparts, those physical defi- iencies could be offset by greater up- er body training for women. The protestations that women are nentally incapable of withstanding the ntensity of wartime violence ignore the )roof of history. In a study of heavily- tombed areas in London during World Var II, men provided 70 percent of the sychiatric casualties. The well-worn irgument that women could not stand >eing captured and taken prisoner vithers in the face of Lt. Col. Rhonda Cornum, one of two female prisoners of var from the Gulf War. After being hot down while piloting a helicopter, -ornum survived repeated sexual as- aults from her Iraqi captors — she, vith two broken arms, a ligament torn n one knee and a bullet in her right nfl ■houlder. Finally, the myth that pregnancy in hibits women's abilities to serve effec- ively fails to convince in the face of ^^ statistics. A 1980 Pentagon study re pealed that women's absenteeism even vith time lost to pregnancy was one talf that of men's absenteeism — which vas due to alcoholism, misconduct and ninor medical ailments. As questions of patriotism and per- onal valor continue to plague both rectio 11 presidential campaigns in tne characters )f Dan Quayle and Bill Clinton, I would ather have a woman who wants to ight defending our country, than a pineless draft-dodger any day of the year. nr liscove 1 Feducia is a senior English and history major Rep. Pat Schroeder would have us believe that women can do anything that men can, and therefore should be offered combat positions within the military. It is without the first say that from it the second claim does not necessarily follow. In other words, the argument against allowing women to assume combat roles is not a case of lack of ca pability, but one of both the complica tions arising from their presence in such roles, and of the costs involved in as similating them into those roles. Among the possible complications that females would bring to tne combat arms are problems of male psychology and behavior, morale, privacy and pregnancy. Some of the stories reach ing us from the Persian Gulf conflict were those of females returning state side due to pregnancy. In an infantry platoon, such a loss would mean one less rifle with which to shoot at the enemy; on a tank crew, the result would be a seriously degraded ability to operate the tank's weapons and systems. These types of personnel losses can spell the difference between mission accomplishment and failure — in some cases the difference that deter mines whether one lives or dies. Pregnancy is but one of the complica tions previously listed, but it serves to represent the considerations that the military would have to make in intro ducing females to combat occupations. Issues of privacy in the spartan condi tions of the tactical situation in the field; of the possible discipline problems of males under stress and in proximity to females, and without said privacy; and of lessened morale and esprit de corps are also easy to imagine, and have been cited in the past. An argument not often cited is the actual monetary cost of assimilating women into combat units. The Canadi an government forced its military to open combat positions to women in 1989. The result, according to Congres sional Quarterly: "It cost several mil lion dollars to recruit 80 women. Ulti mately 40 completed basic training, and only one has entered combat training." U.S. Army cost estimates for a pilot pro gram alone exceed $10 million dollars — this at a time when defense cuts are growing ever more severe. We cannot ignore even the problems that seem trivial. Introducing further complexity to the management of vio lence that we call warfare is a terrible idea if we would believe the words of Carl von Clausewitz in his treatise, "On War." In it, he says, "Theoretically, all sounds very well: the commander of a battalion is responsible for the execu tion of the order given; and as the bat talion by its discipline is glued together into one piece ... the beam turns on an iron pin with little friction. But it is not so in reality, and all that is exaggerated and false in such a conception manifests itself at once in War." Women in F-16's? Maybe. Opening up combat roles to women across the board? It remains to Rep. Schroeder to prove that the benefits to be derived from such a move outweigh the prob lems it would undeniably introduce. possible, disputing claim, to JASON LOUGHMAN Opinion editor Loughman is a senior journalism major Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the opinion page staff and editor in chief only, and do not represent, in any way, tie opinions of reporters, staff, or editors of other sections of the newspaper. Columns, guest columns, and Mai CaB items express the opinions of the authors only. The Battalion encourages letters to die editor and wiB print as many as space allows in the MaB Call section. Letters must be 300 words orless end indude the author's name. We reserve the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy letets should be addressed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald /Campus mall stop 1111 Texas A&M University Collage Station, TX 77843 Aggies should show restraint in future This letter is in response to the ac tions taken at the recent political rally in favor of Dan Quayle. I do not openly support either par ty, so please do not think of this as po litical rhetoric or anything other than simple concern. I was shocked to hear of the actions of the members of the College Republicans who suppressed the free speech of the supporters of the Clinton campaign. Additionally, it concerns me that the supporters of the Bush/Quayle ticket thought it reason able to run across the street at the rally and attack the Clinton supporters by tearing up their signs, thereby pro hibiting the other side's free speech yet again. I do understand the strong feelings that these opposing sides hold against each other, but I cannot condone nor tolerate such behavior. What I ask is that in the future, when both Clinton and Bush visit Texas A&M University, nobody on ei ther side of the political spectrum as saults the other side. Your acts reflect upon your party, and you do your par ty no credit by using violence. Kenneth Snyder Computer Operator Department of Psychology Alternate views of South Afircan reality As the only black South African here at Texas A&M University, I feel compelled to respond to the mislead ing and illogical letter (Battalion, Sept. 22) written by my arrogant and igno rant fellow South African, Joanne Lef- son. To start with, she talks about the media which, in my opinion, always propagates the viewpoint of the South African conservatives who would try anything to hold on to the status quo. Secondly, she mentioned "the con frontation of the Zulus and the Xhosas in the townships." I would like to re mind her about the Boipatong mas sacre. Is she aware that Boipatong is a predominantly Sotho area? If she were intelligent enough she would have al ready deduced that these "barbaric deaths" were, and still are, instigated by a third force. And "for the record" — to use her exact words — Black South Africans pay taxes! I know this from experience as I was taked 25 percent of my month ly income as a professional actor while my white counterparts were only taxed a maximum of 15 percent. It is also a blatant lie, based on un founded facts, to say that over 90 per cent of white taxes go towards black schooling and housing. Instead, it is the other way around. I know this is a fact. I am not even going to dignify her comment about university en trance requirements for South African blacks with a response because I feel that what she said is obtrusively silly. I am convinced that, indeed, Joanne Lefson is not a racist, but just an exten sion of the uninformed white masses of South Africa. I would suggest that when she returns to South Africa in the future, she visit any of the numer ous black townships that she keeps re ferring to, mainly to acquire a first hand experience of what they look like, and, if her heart is willing, estab lish a one-to-one relationship with a black person in order to enlighten her self. I am in total agreement with Joanne Lefson's statement that South Africa is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, but it would be much better if it were to rid itself of the legislated racial inequalities that have plagued it for almost three centuries. Rapulana Seiphemo Class of'94 I am clearly astounded by the irre sponsible statements made by Joanne Lefson in her letter entitlea "South Africa doesn't deserve bad press." Firstly, while it is true that not all whites hate blacks, there is no way we can hide from the fact that some Afrikaner groups who happen to dom inate the police and the security forces do not hide their hatred for black peo ple and Jews or anyone who does not share so-called Judeo-Christian values. Secondly, to assert that violence in the townsmps is simply "confrontation between Zulus and Xhosas" is not only wrong and naive but an oversimplifi cation of a very complex problem. Several impartial inquiries into town ship violence have found unequivocal evidence of involvement of the state's security apparatus. Thirdly, if black South Africans had the same economic, political and social opportunities as their white counter parts, they would gladly pay taxes. Need I remind Lefson that you need to have an income to pay taxes? Sadly, a large majority of black South Africans do not. Either Lefson hasn't been home for a long time or just doesn't fully com prehend the problem of Apartheid very well because some of her statements would surprise even her heroes, Botha and De Klerk. Yes, some progress has been made but if falls far too short of what needs to be done. The old "blame the media game" will not work this time. Instead of using this great opportu nity she has to learn about how Ameri ca has and is still dealing with its de- seWegation issues, Lefson is still in the "denial" phase of the problem. Most eople in South Africa today (both laclk and white) .are a step ahead of Lefson and sooner or later they will find how they, according to Rodney King, "can all get along." Kennedy Dzama Doctoral student Handguns bad idea for personal safety What does it say for our society when more and more people feel the only way to protect themselves and their possessions is with a gun? The rationale that we must use guns to protect ourselves from those who have guns only perpetuates the violent use of guns. I nope. Miss Brinkmann (Battalion, Sept.18), you will not relent to this growing paranoia and will con sider alternatives to handgun owner ship. How about enrolling in a self-de fense class? Besides personal safety, the other intrinsic benefits of such a course include improved physical fit ness, confidence, and discipline. And it is something that can never be taken from you and used against you. Lynann Moses Class of'82 A&M still friendly, full of Aggie spirit We are writing in response to the letter by Summer Belleperche printed in the Sept. 22 issue of The Battalion. Belleperche is a member of the class of '96 who believes that A&M is not what it used to be. We believe her statement is both false and unfounded. After be ing here for only one year, we have been thoroughly educated in its tradi tions and enfolded in the arms of the student body. Where else can you cross a campus every day and always be greeted by complete strangers? Where else can you look totally lost and have someone approach you, asking if you need any help? Never once have we discovered this feeling of selfishness that Miss Belleperche talks about. If she doubts our sincerity, or any other Aggie's sincerity, we invite her to come prick our skin ... we ALL bleed maroon. Melissa Grimm Brenda Franke Class of '95 Writer tells it like it is about football Thank you, Steve O'Brien. I'm glad to see that someone had the audacity to stand up and tell the truth about the A&M footoall team. I personally am a die-hard Aggie and would defend any aspect of A&M to the very end, but the truth needs to be told. Tm glad the Aggies are 4-0 and would love to see a national championship come home to Aggieland, but with Jeff "Gardere" lin ing up behind the center this possibili ty is far below slim. I, along with many others, plead with you, R.C., to make the change at quarterback. Jeff has hit about as many receivers this year as he hit batters last year. Yes, Jeff, you can hit them in football. R.C., make plans for the future and use Pul- lig and Miller. Granger plays scared, which is understandable for a pitcher, but a quarterback needs to be a leader with fire in his eyes and not in his drawers. Glen Portie Class of '94 accompanied by three signatures Now, for something completely different It seems that everywhere you look these days on the A&M campus, there's something concerning our pre sent traditions; people learning them, practicing them, and even complaining about them. What about all those tra ditions that never quite made it through to become as popular as the ones we have today? So without fur ther delay, here are the Top 10 Reject ed A&M Traditions: 10) Salmonella Night at Sbisa 9) The Not Quite So Big Event 8) Corps of Cadets Rush Week 7) The Howdy, Dainmit Dance 6) The Kyle Field 50 Yard Line Dash 5) College of Liberal Arts Coop Fair 4) Six A.M. Yell Practice 3) Red Ass Letterbacks 2) PTTS Appreciation Week ... and the number one rejected A&M tradition: 1) Crochet the Hell Outta Bonfire (C.T.H.O.B.) Joe McCormick Kurt Pifer Class of '95 &W2 -TUB PECORQ NEW JERSEY