LeathermanKick25 said:
I've never had cause to be in a Fire House really, and it never occured to me to waltz on in and ask for a tour. I'd imagine they're spending a lot of time training or making sure all their gear is prepped for a call.
The part about women still not being allowed in combat roles (in some countries). Talk to combat Veterans about this, they don't want them in. Not because of a sexist viewpoint, or a threat to their manhood. They have perfectly valid reasons for not wanting GI Jane in hopping on their afternoon patrol through enemy territory. During my training a bunch of Recruit Instructors and Recruits of bother genders sat down and talked about the whole thing for an hour one night. The NCO's made their arguments and the females either agreed with it or couldn't hold a compelling counter argument. When it comes to life and death, fuck diversity. If those in the job don't want it and will do their job better without it, don't force it on them.
I have no doubt that not everyone who opposes women in combat is a horrible rabid sexist. Not everyone who opposed racial integration of the military was a horrible racist, not everyone who opposed women in the military was a horrible sexist, not everyone who opposed open gays in the military is a horrible homophobe. Can I trust a black person to save my life in the trenches? Are they going to start gunning people down in the barracks for slavery? These were real concerns at one time, and not totally unreasonable or rooted in bigotry. It'd be much more surprising if people were outwardly sexist and giving silly reasons why they should be excluded.
There's also no doubt that including women in combat roles is an adjustment, for both the women and those that serve with them, just as integration of other races and women into the military was also quite a bit of an adjustment. People are naturally resistant to doing things differently and making adjustments, whether they are going to war or working in an office. People tend to overestimate these problems, however, and find that they can adjust to them without the sky falling.
It also doesn't surprise me that a room full of men telling a smaller group of women what they should and should not do ended with the women agreeing with them. It's called peer pressure, or intimidation at worst. Opinions are much more honest and helpful when taken in one-on-one conversation, and that goes all ways. Men are more likely to air their honest personal feelings even if they may not be "PC" and women are more likely to air their own valid concerns. I may not be a part of the military but it doesn't take a military expert to tell you that they value cohesion and "oneness" over everyone speaking their mind.
The fact is, however, women can serve honorably and competently in combat roles. You can look no further than Israel, a country that knows war rather well and has much more riding on its military than even the US, one could argue. Women have ALWAYS fought in war since the dawn of time, even if they were not in a uniform.
