I have served both in active duty Infantry units without females and in National Guard and ROTC units with females.  For those of you who have not served in all male units under intense pressure and extreme circumstances may have a hard time relating to what I am saying.  But it is a fact that men bond differently with other men, than they bond with women.  Women also bond differently with other women than they do men.  How many men take their wives with them on hunting trips?  How many women are in a college fraternity?  How many men are in a college sorority?  How many women players are on an NFL football team?

Introducing a female into an all male unit under extreme circumstances alters the group dynamic.  Some men feel an immediate need to protect the woman more than his other teammates.  Other men feel the need to win the female’s attention or affection.  This causes comrades to become competitors and leads to team cohesion breakdown and misplaced loyalties.  This happens regardless of how physically capable or tactically proficient the female happens to be.  I have personally witnessed these things happening in tactical field environment. 

During extremely stressful periods, such as combat, people tend to form extremely close bonds; especially those who share fighting positions together.  In all male units, this translates into a deep non-sexual type of brotherly love.  However, males and females who share fighting positions together in extremely stressful combat conditions would probably become lovers.  That condition would only amplify competition and envy within the unit and create false loyalties.  Then comes the issue of battlefield pregnancy.  A line combat unit can not afford to lose it’s Soldiers due to pregnancy.

How would females like to take a ‘whore’s bath’ with a washcloth and a helmet’s full of water in front of all their male squad mates?  How would a female like to take a crap in front of other male squad mates?  How would females like to share the same sleeping bag with a male Soldier at the same time?  This is the environment that combat arms units live under in the field.

Combat arms units do not have the time nor the luxury to deal with such problems as:

Pregnant Soldiers

Lover’s spats

Special hygiene requirements to avoid toxic shock syndrome

Separate bathing and sleeping facilities

Competition for affection

Sexual harassment issues

If you want to see the difference in group dynamics that is caused by sexual integration in military units, all one has to do is go witness BCT at Ft. Jackson and Military Intelligence AIT, then go to Ft. Benning and witness Infantry OSUT. 

Again, none of this is caused by the female being inferior in anyway.  None of this is about sexism.  If the female cannot pull 100% of her weight in the field, then this only complicates matters further.

How would females like to take a ‘whore’s bath’ with a washcloth and a helmet’s full of water in front of all their male squad mates?  How would a female like to take a crap in front of other male squad mates?  How would females like to share the same sleeping bag with a male Soldier at the same time?  This is the environment that combat arms units live under in the field.

I don't know how many fraggos I've given and received while at least one of  the group was peein' on a tree while listening to or issuing the order. But then I'm a grubby little bastard anyway.

Men, over here in Iraq we still have the combat support (CS) and combat service support (CSS) folks talking some big time crap about how much they deserve the CIB award.

You and I know that our army (including the RC/NG) is mainly made up of CS/CSS units.  Here they are caught up in serving in an assymetrical low intensiy tango environment and EVERYONE is at risk of becoming a tango action statistic.  How that entitles the CS/CSS folks to the CIB is beyond me.

Also, this BS claim that CS/CSS is doing most of the fighting and door busting is ludricous at best.  Most of them sit in an FOB hoping and praying they never get a mission outside the wire.  I know this because I have witnessed it with my own eyes.  The infantry goes outside the wire here daily as a way of life.  It is their job and what is expected of them.

I can guarantee you that within combat arms (CA) it is the INFANTRY and SPEC OPS doing the bulk of direct action (DA) missions and QRF actions.  That is also why they alone are entitled to the CIB.

I heard the same stuff in DS/DS. Our artillery attachments, the 19Ds in the Scout Platoon, yes, even our mechanics all thought they should CIBs. If they wanted CIBs, they should've joined the Infantry.

I remember on February 16th, 1991, the day after Desert Storm started, our brigade was in the port of al Jubail waiting for our ships to arrive from Germany with our vehicles. We'd put our masks on about ten times that day because the support people were freaking out. But by supper time, they'd all sewn their combat patch on their right sleeve. One day into the war and they were scrambling for glory and badges.

My son's best friend just ETS'd after a tour in Iraq. As a 13B, he claims he was doing security missions and patrolling like the infantry. He says he deserves a CIB, too. But the simple answer is; if you ain't Infantry, you don't get one.

Ok MEN ONE MORE TIME "IF YOU WANT A CIB THAN YOU SHOULD HAVE GONE 11B HOOAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MIKE LANSAW        

Extremist are nuts on either side. Moderation is key in seeking the truth.

OIF 2 Veteran 13th COSCOM  2 FEB - 23 OCT 04