Dads Against the Divorce Industry

DA*DI is devoted to reinstating the societal valuation of Marriage and the traditional, nuclear American Family, with particular emphasis on the essential role of FATHERS.

DA*DI offers contemporary reports and commentary on culture; its aberrations and its heroes.

 Editorials

Editorial: Women soldiers meet the test

The war in Iraq further erodes stereotypes about the role of women.

By Des Moines Register Editorial Board

04/14/2003

Pfc. Lori Ann Piestewa was the first American servicewoman known to have died in the Iraq war. Her death was a tragic loss, but no more so than those of U.S. servicemen who have died in the conflict.

The fairly evenhanded public reaction is a shift from recent times when outrage over wives and mothers and daughters coming home in body bags was more likely.

Of course, some people still believe women aren't physically or emotionally up to the most dangerous jobs in the military. During the Vietnam War, most women in uniform were nurses, and some were killed. The last Gulf War, with women in various visible roles, began to beat back stereotypes. This war is shredding them.

Women can hold more than 90 percent of military positions, thanks to changes made by the Clinton administration following the first Gulf War. Opportunities closed to women include Special Forces and infantry, armor and artillery divisions. Yet they fly combat missions, are allowed in combat zones on the ground and account for about 15 percent of the total active-duty force.

The stories of the fight put up by Pfc. Jessica Lynch before she was captured by Iraqi forces reinforce the fact that well-trained women can handle themselves. Her rescue put a new face on who signs up to serve the country - even future kindergarten teachers. It also underscored that joining the military is the only way to gain access to an education after high school for many young people.

What is hardest to reconcile about women going to war is the children left behind. Yet that is a decision that is rightly left to each individual, who can best weigh the pros and cons of volunteering. It is hard to watch fathers say goodbye to sons and daughters, too.

For women, the biggest change is that they are widely viewed, and view themselves, as competent to take on tasks that not long ago were taboo. Women make up a growing share of Americans who serve in the military. Now, remove the last barriers, and let those who meet all the requirements prove themselves in every military job.

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