On average, there tend to be physical and other physiological differences between men and women…
[The Services must] mitigate the potential for higher injury rates among women…[to] maximize effectiveness in the fight and increase readiness.
The Secretary of Defense’s statement on opening combat roles to women appears to affirm the US Department of Defense’s counter-cultural conclusion that men and women are not the same. Read more
Update: It seems the US Marine Corps had some thoughts on these unusually frank articles. While they are still posted at their links below, each has been edited to indicate it is an “editorial,” and all are now preceded by official disclaimers.
In an unusual media burst, the US Marines released six articles written by young enlisted troops on rather unusual topics — and generally critical of their own Marine Corps in unusually frank tones. Three of the six articles were uncredited, though they were all published through AFN-IJ (Iwakuni), and the three that had by-lines were all written by AFN-IJ staff members.
In the first, Corporal David Bickel wrote in favor of “Vaping in Government Facilities,” in which he criticized the ban on using nicotine vaporizers in government buildings, saying
The reasoning behind the rules against vaping in the barracks have [sic] little to no ground to stand on as well as little relevancy to the topic of tobacco smoking, which the government classifies as regular cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and vaporizers.
In the second, an uncredited troop sarcastically bragged that Read more
A Regent University doctoral student is studying the psychology of religious coping of military personnel following exposure to combat, and he’s collecting data using an online survey. While the survey may cause some to remember their combat experiences, the questions themselves are otherwise benign, if a bit fuzzy at times.
If you’re a combat-experienced believer in God, you can contribute to the data through the survey here.
Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. –Psalm 144:1
Can a Christian serve in combat? Is war inconsistent with the commands of Jesus Christ?
Recent events have given new life to the age old discussion about whether “Christian” and “military” are mutually exclusive (never mind being a “Christian Fighter Pilot”). Particularly for new Christians, or Christians who grew up in peaceful times and areas, the concepts of a “warring Christian” who is a child of the loving God can seem contradictory.
(There are also many non-Christians who try to find an apparent contradiction in military Christian service. The intent here is to address those with a Christian worldview.)
There are many books and pamphlets written on this topic, and most categorize their analysis in two categories. The “anti-war” division centers on the “pacifist teachings” of Jesus. The “pro-war” division centers on the Just War doctrine supported with Biblical citations. Well-researched books quote Augustine and Thomas Aquinas Read more
According to the Air Force Times, the all-female F-15E Strike Eagle combat flight orchestrated as part of Women’s History Month “spark[ed] debate” over the issue of women in combat. The article is largely composed of reader inputs to the Times’ calls for comment. Most of the comments support lifting restrictions, and most (including women) also say the standards should be the same for men and women.
The ironic part of that statement is men and women aren’t currently held to the same standard; for example, in every service women have different Read more
Marriages in the US military, especially in this wartime environment, will inevitably face separation. One Army unit’s Chaplains placed special emphasis on marriages at a recent retreat, and they will continue that emphasis throughout the upcoming deployment. The news report notes that Read more