Miliary Violating 'Women in Combat' Ban
By Rowan Scarborough / The Washington Times
A pro-military group is charging that the Army is violating the Defense Department's ban on women in land combat
by collocating mixed-sex support units with war-fighting soldiers.
A 1994 Pentagon policy bars the Army from such unit commingling. But as the Army undergoes a far-reaching transformation, it plans to put sex-integrated Forward Support Companies (FSC) alongside newly created brigade "units of action," charges Elaine Donnelly, who heads the Center for Military Readiness.
"They are eliminating the collocation rule," said Mrs. Donnelly, basing her assertion on internal Army documents and sources.
At issue is how the Army is transforming its 10 active divisions into multiple, self-contained "units of action." The Army has looked at the idea of imbedding mixed-sex FSCs into actual combat brigades. It concedes this would violate the Pentagon policy against collocating women-included units and would require notification to Congress, according to internal documents.
Mrs. Donnelly sent a letter of complaint to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, California Republican.
She contended that mixed-sex FSCs "will surely lead to even more involuntary assignments of women to other infantry and armor units that engage in direct ground combat, or collocate with those that do."
She added, "The Army's most recent plans ... would force female soldiers into support units that are organic to and collocated with combined [unit of action] infantry/armor battalions. These plans, which are already in progress, constitute violation of current Defense Department regulation."
Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff, is the moving force behind its transformation into modular units of action that train and deploy as one self-contained brigade, with combat and support elements. The first new-styled division, the 3rd Infantry at Fort Stewart, Ga., will deploy to Iraq in January.
Related
The Church Must Oppose the Sin of Women at War
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Vision Forum Ministries presents a forum of scholars, theologians, and journalists in opposition to the idea that a free people can survive while sending mothers and daughters to war.
Posted by Editor at December 9, 2004 03:15 PM
by collocating mixed-sex support units with war-fighting soldiers.