Women In Combat

The main role of the military is to legally and morally kill the enemy.

ADF Logo

The Federal Government (Gillard Government) in early April 2011 announced that they will push for women to take on front line combat roles in the Australian Army.

The first women permitted into the Army were the Army Nursing Service in 1899.  In 1979 Army women were awarded the equal pay of their male counterparts.  Yet, 77% positions remained out of bounds. Today, women make up 13.5% of the Australian Defence Force.  Further, Australia was the second nation in the world to allow women to serve in submarines. 

Australian Female Soldier

The most ‘forward deployed’ woman in the Australian military is Corporal Rachel Ingram (40 years old).  She is at a military base in Tarin Kowt, patrolling the green zone of Afghanistan (Mirabad Valley).  She is an army photographer.

Photos by Corporal Rachel Ingram

What is the current law?

Women are allowed to serve on the front line.  In fact, there are women serving on the front line in Afghanistan today.

The current law states that women are allowed in all military roles, including close combat.  However, there are the following exclusions:

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• Where it requires women to ‘commit or participate directly in the commission of an act of violence against an armed adversary’; or
• Expose them ‘to a high probability of direct physical contact with an armed adversary’.

This basically means that women are not allowed to serve in ‘combat manoeuvre units’.  The sole purpose of these units is to ‘seek out and close with the enemy to kill or capture, to seize and hold ground and repel attack’.  It is believed that such operations require physical strength and power, and load carrying stamina and endurance.  That is, soldiers must:

• Lift and carry a 155m Howitzer shell, weighing 43kg, where the rate of fire is fundamental,
• Carry 50kg packs across distances up to 50kms.

155m Howitzer

It has being argued that women are physically incapable of undertaking these tasks.  And there is no denying that most men are physically stronger than most women.  Figures show that women have 50% less upper body strength, 30% less aerobic fitness, and 40% less muscle mass.

Defence Culture

Recently the ADF’s culture has hit the media following the accusations made by a female cadet that she was streamed on Skype having sex with a fellow male cadet, whilst other male cadets watched in another room. 

Daniel McDonald - the accused in the ADF Skype case.

Perhaps allowing women to partake in all Army roles is an opportunity to fix the ‘old boys club’?

With this aside, the ‘chivalry problem’ has also being floated around the debate.  The chivalry problem means that having women in close combat units invites extra danger.  This is because men will feel compelled to rescue and protect them.

Other Armies

The USA prevents women from serving in the infantry, artillery and armoured units.

The UK allows women to serve in all specialisations, except those where the primary duty is ‘to close with and kill the enemy’.

Finally, Israel, probably the most advanced country in allowing women into the military.  In 2000, women began serving as combat soldiers along the Egyptian and Jordanian borders in order to protect the country from drug smugglers and terrorist infiltrators.  The Israeli Defence Force also decided to deploy women in the artillery corps, followed by infantry units, armoured divisions and elite combat units.  The following is a clip of women in Israeli military.

Discussion Questions:

• Is the right to kill and be killed something women should celebrate?
• As long as the physical requirements can be met, should women be allowed to serve in close combat?
• Maybe this isn’t an issue of gender, but rather the robustness and capability of the Army?