The author Mary Beth Waddell examines the usefulness of women on the battlefields by analyzing different levels of combat. For example, she argues that a military officer is not likely to get engaged in direct or hand-to-hand combat with an enemy in sea or air combat. The officer may be miles away from the adversary in battle. Conversely, an officer may be adjacent and personal to an enemy if it is a ground battle. She states that fighting enemies up close is one thing and quite another to fight them from afar, making it challenging for women to be drafted. In combat, anything can happen, and this makes it considerably risky for women. Waddell acknowledges that the main reason for establishing a draft is to substitute brave militias who participated in the front line by ultimately sacrificing themselves. This replacement creates a specific need for soldiers who are physically fit, the ones who can persevere in harsh situations. She states that the majority of women are not emotionally and physically prepared for this kind of warfare. Thus, they should not be forced to participate in military roles due to the misguided ideology of fairness and inclusiveness. She further examines the damages that affect military lethality, unit cohesion, and readiness resulting from drafting women. Waddell states that females in the draft aged 18-25 experience menstrual cycles that can be challenging on the battlefield. In the field, soldiers survive out of a backpack for a month or more at a go. In the case of female soldiers, these conditions make them vulnerable to urinary tract infections due to a lack of adequate sanitation. She examines female militias in co-ed require and concludes they need specific accommodations that are unnecessary to male units. Female units would necessitate exceptional privacy in the most severe circumstances, which would be challenging and time-consuming. Additionally, co-ed divisions can lead to higher cases of rape and sexual trauma. These factors tend to hinder the necessary focus needed on the battlefield to defeat an enemy and thus make it unnecessary to draft women.
Work Cited
Waddell, Mary Beth. “Women Should not be Drafted into Selective Service”. Downloads’. Org, 2021.