Word: combatancy
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...southern Philippines to help train local troops in their ongoing fight against Abu Sayyaf, which the U.S. State Department believes has only between 200 and 500 active members today. The Philippine military told a reporter that the U.S. troops in the Sept. 29 incident were not involved in any combat operations but "were just there to help in building a school." The deaths were the first U.S. military casualties to occur in the Philippines since 2002, when a bomb, most likely planted by Abu Sayyaf, exploded in a bar on the island of Mindanao, killing one American soldier...
...taking equality in the military to this level has its critics. Former military officer and opposition lawmaker Stuart Robert believes that physically, women aren't cut out for combat, and says that while Israel's regional threats may justify female combat soldiers, Australia's do not. "It's like putting a woman in the ring with Mike Tyson, or putting them in the Wallabies [a male rugby team]," says Robert. "Why do they separate men and women in the Olympics? Maybe they should all compete in the same events?" Robert believes that even if women do meet the state...
...opened to women. But despite these advances, Australian women still only occupy 13% of military positions. And today, they are lawfully excluded from roles in seven divisions of the army, these including navy clearance diver, the Special Air Services (SAS) and various positions on the ground that involve direct combat. Before last month, the ruling logic was that women were not physically strong enough to do these jobs. When the new standards come into place, women with a high fitness level will hopefully be enticed by the range of opportunities available to them...
...many, offering women combat positions makes perfect sense. Australian women already serve in the frontline as fighter pilots and ship commanders, and now they will join the ranks of women in Israel, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Denmark and a handful of European nations who allow females to fight on the grond alongside their male counterparts. There about 10 Western countries who allow women into direct combat. "I don't see why it's an impediment, beyond the short term," says Michael McKinley a Senior Lecturer in International Relations and Strategy at the Australian National University. "You would have to basically...
...Many also argue that women in combat pose a security risk to their nation's mission because as hostages, they are potentially more vulnerable to rape and torture than their male counterparts. "You have to admit that, yes, conceptually, it's more likely that women would be in more danger," says McKinley. "I am not convinced that it would have to be the case, but it is possible." Men, after all, are also subject to sexual assault and abuse as prisoners. For Robert, the question is not so much whether men and women will be treated differently in capture...