It was just a matter of time. Women who qualify will fight alongside men in the front lines of combat. Even at 81, Gloria Steinem must be doing back flips to see how famously American women are doing — from enjoying lifelong business careers to running for president and now for having the opportunity to urinate in field latrines alongside their male counterparts. Allegedly, the Marines conducted a study of coed fighting teams to conclude that these teams would be less effective than all male teams, and thus have opposed Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s proclamation. Carter never served a day in the military but he’s a renowned thinker (Yale, Harvard, Oxford)and therefore feels equipped to know what’s best for the people who do. You’re persuaded that, in their opposition, the Marine panel must not have witnessed Demi Moore’s dogged portrayal of G.I. Jane — a performance that proves beyond doubt that women can wear the pants in any man’s combat outfit. You can’t imagine what worries the Marines. If women can satisfactorily pass the physical tests for strength, endurance, combat skill and toughness, they would be no different than the men. They would eat the same food and wear the same uniforms. They would do the same work for the same pay. They would kill the enemy at long distance or in hand-to-hand combat. They would carry the same gear and the same weapons. In a skirmish, if one of their brothers or sisters went down wounded, they single handedly would crawl under fire and use the “fireman’s carry” to bring him or her to safety. And since DADT policy was outlawed, females would not feel compelled to masquerade as males. That’s good news, isn’t it? They can be soldiers — and women — simultaneously. Much like members of the LGBT community who are now openly soldiers — and homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders — simultaneously. Necessarily, with this new dictate, we must agree to changes in some well-known terms. As an example, common sense would suggest that Band Of Brothers becomes Band of Brothers and Sisters, or Band of Brothers, Sisters and Others. Carter’s decree must assume that anyone and everyone is eligible for combat. If you happen to be hostile to the idea of women in combat, remember that combat-ready women already occupy important roles in law enforcement. Who can forget when Clarice Starling took down Jame Gumb (alias Buffalo Bill)in Silence of the Lambs? In real life, who doesn’t know that one Loretta Lynch is the top cop on the block? To be sure, Clarice, Loretta and city police officers aren’t confined to common quarters and forced to live together. To some doubters, the “living together” might pose a bit of an issue. Some might say that soldiers are men first. Some might say that men and women have only one thing in common and that one thing has nothing to do with attitudes, activities, feelings, etc. Ashton Carter has chosen to use the military as a social experiment. If lives were not at stake, you might give it a wink, a nod and a smirk. But you can be sure Steinem’s in her glory (no near pun intended). She spent her life furthering the cause of social justice. She has her wish, at least with respect to women, whose places are no longer in the home, but rather on the battlefield beside men. For their part, men have always wanted women beside them. But please. Not wearing fatigues.
