This used to be one of those subjects that a lot of men would dismiss out of hand.  When this used to come up on SP in the past you would see a lot of comments along the lines of, "It is impossible for women to be in special ops.  In fact, we shouldn't even be discussing this." 

 

The war in Iraq has changed things a little, however.  For the last four years women soldiers and Marines have been actively engaged in combat on an almost daily basis.  Because of cultural taboos against men touching Iraqi women, American female soldiers and Marines have been accompanying infantry units on patrols in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq and Afghanistan, and have been engaging in combat right alongside the men.  Some non-combat arms units, such as military police and transportation, are fully integrated with men and women, and some of those units have seen heavy action, with some female soldiers being decorated for valor in battle.  You can argue all day long whether or not women should be in combat roles, but the fact of the matter remains that women have been serving combat in the US military for several years now. 

 

Allowing women to serve in special forces type units is a different matter, but may not be as cut and dried as most people think.  Their is certainly a case to be made that women face some serious health risks when it comes to hygiene in the field.  Women simply need more access to bathing facilities than men do in order to remain healthy, but that may not be a factor in direct action missions that are no more than a few hours (or at the most a few days) in duration.  Strength is also another factor, but do we use this argument to exclude smaller than average males out of hand without giving them a chance to participate in the selection process? 

 

Women police officers are currently serving in a number US SWAT teams, including high end teams such as Dallas SWAT and NYPD's ESU, and some are doing the job just as well or better than some of the men.  I've served with several women on the police side that I would go to war with right now. 

 

I sure as hell don't want my daughter serving in an infantry unit, but if a woman is mentally and physically tough enough to pass the rigorous selection process for a special forces unit then maybe she should be allowed to serve.