Should women be allowed in the military And to what extent - Research Paper Example

This paper is an attempt to analyse whether women should be allowed in the military and in doing so the paper deals with the variety of traditional and modern roles that women have played in the military service. The role of women in military There has been the participation of women in the US military service starting from the formation of the union and they were often present in the warfare during the 18th and 19th centuries undertaking spy works, nursing, cooking and laundry works. Margaret Conrad Devilbiss classifies the areas of women participation in the military during the American Revolution in to three as “first, those referred to as women of the army or army women; second, those enlisted as regular troops fighting in uniform side by side with male continentals; and third, women serving as irregular fighters affiliated with local military companies” (Devilbiss 1).

Women of army were having responsibilities to support the artillery in the warfare along with providing treatment in the military hospitals and in the war field. The second category has performed as regular enrolled soldiers and some of them fought disguised as men together with male soldiers. Separate military units were also formed during that period composed partly or entirely of women for the purpose of local defence. A continuation of women participation was observed in the US military activities of the 19th century such as the war of 1812, the civil war during the period 186-65 and the Spanish-American war of 1898 and they focussed mainly on the health care of soldiers as the number of death resulting from injuries and also from diseases were increasing and the situation was demanding the service of experienced physicians and nurses who possess emotional and Psychological stability, strength, bravery and willingness to work under risky environments to take care of the injured (Devilbiss 1).

It can also be seen that women in military were allotted more of bureaucratic and technical roles rather than military service on the war front (Caforio 290). The present role of women in military is not restricted to the field of health care and they also perform various other critical functions such as the operation of automatic weapons, driving military trucks, and flying fighter plains. However they are not allowed to enrol in units such as artillery or infantry where a direct combat with enemy is essential.

Considering the words of Ms. Donnelly, the president of the Centre for Military Readiness based at Michigan, “Civilized nations do not subject women to combat violence. We sometimes don't have a choice about sending young men into war, but we do have a choice about young women. And we decided as a commission, in the majority, to say that, 'No, violence against women, we do not endorse that. We support women in the military, but we don't have to submit them to direct violence in combat.” The statement provides a clear picture regarding how women should be positioned in military.

According to Ms. Donnelly’s observation it is necessary to have women in military to undertake a large variety of non traditional jobs and thereby to support various military functions (Role of Women in US Military Gets Renewed Debate). Women also possess precision,