Wow.....I was on HMS Amazon when it was being broached about women serving at sea, my gramps was spitting tacks at home, but it was the married guys that were taking the crap at home. We were locked in dock at the time. Plymouth, when the gearboxes were breaking apart same as the Coventry. The married spanners were dropping bits overboard as we couldn't go off until all bits were found. Never happened! But back to women on board and in the PBI.
I agree about the women doing great stuff in Intel with SAS/SBS etc and some at the pointy end (didn't one get killed a couple of years ago and the press prats went bonkers?)....I also agree women can have a viscious tear up. Personal experience on that one!
BUT....on the front line in Afghanistan with the PBI??? What's going to happen to them IF they get captured? And wouldn't they be targeted by the RH's for maximum worldwide press cover? Therefore putting the whole of their unit in extra danger?
Then the male factor. Regardless of the crap we can come out with most of us are hard-wired to protect the ball-busters!
That doubling of the unit danger level just got trebled.
I didn't stay just living in No8's.....I went sideways to Poole Barracks, 'nuff said.
But I have been at the pointy end of the stick Down South and a couple of other places, but in all honesty I would not, not NOT want women fighting along side me for so many reasons I can't begin. And I know some pretty cool and tough girls/women. Pitch of voice under stress comes to mind just as a start. Not being total team players and have a tad of a chip on their shoulder to prove themselves is another.
Fully armed, combat trained as support and combat ready Intel, no problem at all. But those are special sharp high IQ women.
To have a few thousand frontline who's job ops are the Mil or MacD, Lidl, Iceland or telesales etc....sorry but I'm not being an arse here, I want physical strength of mind and body, tenacity and strong decision making when its needed. Which I hear the women already with SAS/SBS/Combined Ops etc do have....but they are the few....NOT in their thousands which is what the MOD in their usual infinite wisdom are talking about.
For me a non starter.
Open to debate on this, but you'll have to find ways around the key points to change my view on this.
As an addition, the Septics have done this, and thankfully we are above them. US women in the Mil carry a knife to stop the covered up rapes that occur to them, hundreds.
I VERY much doubt that would happen with us. I hope we are way above that. But it will remain an If-But-Maybe along with way too many other little details that if you add up every 5% reasons to say NO to this ends up as 70% NO no NO.
Jack