As it stands now, women are held to different standards than men.
That is fine, as the women don't directly fight on the front lines.
That being said, once they ARE fighting on the front lines, is the enemy going to take those different standards into account? Is leadership going to take the different standards into account when determining who carries what? Is a female's kit going to be lighter than a male's because the standards are different?
Then there's the differences in hygeine. Sure, the army can make accomodations for female hygeine, but as prior infantry, i have worn the same uniform in the field for weeks on end, with no shower, due to optempo. I'm pretty sure that causes some problems for them.
And of course, we also have the issue of our societal programming of "Men save Women." It might be chauvanistic, and it probably is sexist, but it doesn't make it any less legitimate. A woman being captured, or killed, or worse, will have a MUCH higher impact on unit morale than if a male counterpart were the victim.
You also have the problem (and this is less of a combat arms specific issue, but again....morale issue that doesn't exist in the tight knit combat arms units right now) of false accusations. I'm not saying that sexual harrassment shouldn't be reported. It should, and it should be dealt with harshly. However, it is not uncommon in today's society for a scorned woman, or even a woman who feels that she was wronged professionally, to file a bogus harrassment suit, effectively ending the career and family life of the accused. Again, this is less of a issue specific problem, but it's still something to consider when weighing the pros vs cons.
On that matter, I'm actually trying to find any "Pros" other than making the females feel more equal....which they won't be due to separate standards. What happened to "Mission First?" When did hurt feelings start driving policy? If there are actual pro's that make completing the mission easier, faster, or more efficient, I'm all ears.
Call me an a$$, call me a pig, call me a sexist, but don't call me late for dinner. But seriously, I have the utmost respect for women, as my wife will tell you. This is just an issue that I feel extremely strongly about due to the above reasons.
I'm done.
