US mulls ban on women in combat
By Adam Brookes
BBC News, Washington
(Gold9472: And replace them with..............................what?)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4560847.stm
Republicans in the US Congress are trying to pass legislation which would keep female soldiers out of combat.
The measure is being considered now by the House Armed Services Committee.
Advocates of the proposal want to stop women from working as drivers, medics and logistics specialists in teams which provide back-up to combat units.
They say the women get too close to the fighting. But the US army is opposed to the plan at a time when they are having problems with recruitment.
Senior officers have said if it passes into law, they will have to pull out 22,000 female soldiers from their current jobs and replace them with men.
No front line
Women who serve in the US army are barred by law from fighting on the front line.
But in Iraq, the US is fighting an insurgency - which means there is no front line.
About 9,000 women are serving in Iraq and 35 have been killed.
Combat can happen anywhere at any time, and women have frequently been caught up in it.
Republican lawmakers in the Congress now want to pass a measure which would keep women out of units called Forward Support Companies.
The army is deeply opposed to the measure.
Underlying the army's opposition are the problems it is having recruiting new troops.
For the last three months, the army has failed to meet its recruiting targets. At the moment it looks set to miss its annual target by 15%.
Further limiting the roles women can fill in the military will make its task even harder.
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