Villarreal 1 Ima Student
Professor Eakman
English 1301.8M
29 May 2017 Are Co-Ed Units Bad?
In Mackubin Thomas Ownes’, “Coed Combat Units, A bad idea on all counts” argues that
having females in combat roles should not be allowed. Owens argues that women have “half the
upper body strength, low aerobic capacity and 37 percent less muscle mass” than men. (Owens)
Ownes also argues that “men treat women differently” and argues that it has “consequences”
because the men might show “favoritism” to female soldiers. (Owens) Although Owens make a
good argument that coed units can lead to a unit’s downfall, his position is, for the most part,
naïve. What Owens fails to consider is that women are physically capable of handling the same
load as men, undisciplined units has always been present even before women came to combat
roles and units training standards are not effecting the military because of women.
To begin, Owens claims that women are not physically capable of taking the combat roles as
men because their bodies have “less muscle mass” than men (Owens). The first question is what
effect does having “less muscle mass” have when it comes to combat. The logical assumption he
is making is that because women have less muscle than men, women can’t perform their combat
duties because they lack the physic required. It’s wrong to think that a quality soldier is measured
by the size of their muscles.
One case, two women graduated from the most elite military school in the United States
known as Ranger School in August 2015 (CNN). Ranger school is extremely physically
demanding and not everyone can complete the course. The candidates trained with “minimal Villarreal 2 food and little sleep” and had to prove they were mentally capable as well (CNN). In the article,
Gen. Miller stated that “it’s not exclusively a male domain here” (CNN). Miller states that
women are very much as physically capable as their male counterparts since he states that
“standards of the course were not changed”(CNN). The course consists of obstacle courses,
physical fitness test and other grueling tasks that must be completed and despite having “less
muscle mass” than man, these two women showed that women can handle their roles in combat
just and completed the course where, out of “381 men and 19 women” only “94 men and 2
women met all the requirements” to become a ranger (CNN). Women have the right to be in
combat roles if they meet all requirements.
Another questionable argument is Owens claim that women contribute to units low
“discipline” (Owens). Owens claim has a lot of things wrong with it. Women where officially
allowed in combat units as of January 2013 (NPR). Even before women were allowed in combat
roles, men have showed lack of discipline in many campaigns. A platoon in, Blackfoot Company
showed signs of an undisciplined unit in 2009 (NyTimes). The platoon would wear “bandannas
and cut-off T-shirts” and had positions “inadequately secured” (NyTimes). This units was a
combat platoon with only men since women weren’t allowed until 2013, and this shows the men
where undisciplined because of their laziness and lack of leadership (NyTimes). The lack of
leadership was prevalent because they had their first platoon sergeant “replaced relatively early”
from theater because of “problems” (NyTimes). The lack of discipline derived from the mean
and their leadership not doing their job to professional military standard and women had no part
or contributed to this lack of discipline because they weren’t around in 2009 conducting combat
missions. Villarreal 3 Lastly, Owens states that “standards have been reduced so much” that the military is not being
prepared for “strenuous challenges.” This statement is incorrect; the service members are well
prepared to fight future battles. As stated before, Gen. Miller stated that the “standards of the
course were not changed” just because women for competing (CNN). This shows that both
women and men received the same training and had the same “physical and mental challenges”
throughout the course (CNN). In another instance Capt. Godman is a female soldier competing
for a sapper tab in Fort Leonard Wood. In this course, there is “no separation of the sexes” and
everyone is treated like a soldier with the same standards (Washington). What this means is that
everyone is treated equally and no one is being given a handicap due to their gender. Since they
receive the same training these men and women are being prepared for “strenuous challenges” of
the 21st century (Owens). The standard for training people in these elite schools has not changed
because of women being introduced to the picture. It encourages women to work hard and meet
the standards that men have.
Mackubin Thomas Ownes claims that having women in combat roles is not right.
Throughout history the views of women have changed through history in times of war. In most
recent year women, have proven that they are just as capable as men both physically and
mentally when it comes to combat positions in the military. Owen fails to consider this because
he believes that women are physically weak and are not as capable as men, women contribute to
a male soldier’s lack of discipline and that allowing women in combat roles have lowered the
training standards, which has men unprepared to fight future battles. Villarreal 4 Work sited
Owens, Mackubin Thomas. “Coed Combat Units.” Weekly Standard, The Weekly Standard
Http://Assets.weeklystandard.com.s3.Amazonaws.com/tws15/Images/Logo-Large.png, 4 Feb.
2013, www.weeklystandard.com/coed-combat-units/article/697822 Accessed 29 May 2017. Wong, Kristina. “Women Tough It out as Sappers.” The Washington Times, The Washington
Times, 8 July 2012, www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jul/8/women-tough-it-out-as- sappers/ Accessed 29 May 2017. Smith-Spark, Laura. “Two Women Graduate from Army Ranger School.” CNN, Cable News
Network, 21 Aug. 2015, www.cnn.com/2015/08/21/us/women-army-ranger-graduation/ Accessed 29 May 2017. Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Eric Schmitt. “Bergdahl Was in Unit Known for Its Troubles.” The New
York Times, The New York Times, 7 June 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/us/us-soldierbowe-bergdahl-case-highlights-a-unit-known-for-troubles.html?_r=0 Accessed 29 May 2017. Chappell, Bill. “Pentagon Says Women Can Now Serve In Front-Line Ground Combat
Positions.” NPR, NPR, 3 Dec. 2015, www.npr.org/sections/thetwo- way/2015/12/03/458319524/pentagon-will-allow-women-in-frontline-ground-combat-positions
Accessed 29 May 2017. Villarreal 5

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