Like any policy change, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey’s announcement on Thursday, regarding the end of the ban on women not being allowed to serve on the front line in combat, is initiating widespread debate throughout the nation. The announcement was broadcast live on CNN.
The day before the Pentagon press conference making the announcement official, the story was announced across the nation's media outlets on Wednesday afternoon, and soon after the debate began. While the usual antiquated debates regarding policies that give women well-deserved equal opportunities were loosely thrown around – regarding the age-old excuses regarding the physical differences between men and women as well as the difficulties women may have in needing a washroom break as compared to a man – there were other issues that are not antiquated, but instead, quite futuristic.
In a word: the military "draft."
There are many who say it is only fair that women are now allowed the same opportunities as men in fighting battles when the United States is at war. In fact, a recent Gallup poll shows that an overwhelming 73 percent of Americans polled believe women should be given the military combat equality.
Another overlooked fact reported by Sean Hannity of Fox is that last year, women were allowed to engage in combat training and only two women signed up for the training - neither completed the training course. This, naturally, raises the question which asks how many females truly want to be on the front lines in combat in the United States military.
However, logic dictates that the next time the United States needs to reenact a draft to have enough persons to fight a war, all persons who are allowed to fight on the front lines in combat will also be part of the draft.
The strongest debate regarding the new policy revolves around the logical question which many are thinking about at this time: How many people will be equally supportive of women being required to be part of a future military draft to fill those front lines in combat?
Many have already weighed-in on the debate and have said they don’t want their daughters and granddaughters being forced into battle in the future via a military draft in the United States as the nation’s men have been drafted in the past.
The change in policy announced on Thursday by Panetta opens in excess of 230,000 jobs which have been previously closed to women.
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