If you’re going to harp about there not being enough lady CEOs, then you should be equally upset that there aren’t enough women digging trenches and being shot at.
That is, after all, equality.
In an effort being spearheaded by a number of Senate Democrats, a provision being included in National Defense Authorization Act will make it mandatory for women to sign up for the draft at age 18; the same as men. Jack Reed, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and author of the bill in its totality, has been an advocate for women to be drafted in the event of a massive conflict for a number of years. Apparently, there is an expectation that the military will be needing a massive repository of soldiers in the years to come.
But the singular question being posed when it comes to any change to military policy should be this: “What positive effects will this have on combat effectiveness?”
This controversial forced enlistment – already a contentious policy as it stands with men – is all the more questionable when considering the typical fitness of female soldiers in the military (what’s one more controversy?). Fitness standards required of soldiers are – or rather, used to be – considerably high enough that the general population of men in the US would be unable to pass. These standards have, in recent years, been lowered to allow women to enlist and pass.
But is that really a good thing? Is lowering the bar really the best way to bolster the military? Especially in the current geopolitical space we currently find ourselves with China’s constant posturing to invade Taiwan and, by extension, each and every other nation in its immediate proximity?
No. No, it isn’t.
This provision in the National Defense Authorization Act – considered a piece of legislation that cannot be kicked down the road by representatives – has brought the prevalence of biological discrepancy and sex roles back into the conversation. The idea of women being drafted to engage in combat roles is opposed by people ranging from men concerned for their daughters and sisters to worried feminists that aren’t looking for any kind of equality that doesn’t involve air-conditioned offices.