[iwar] [fc:Females.Kept.Off.Ground.For.Special-Ops.Missions]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-10-24 10:23:53
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From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net>
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Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2001 10:23:53 -0700 (PDT)
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Subject: [iwar] [fc:Females.Kept.Off.Ground.For.Special-Ops.Missions]
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[FC - Wouldn't it be good from an iwar standpoint for US female soldiers
to win a firefight against Al Qaeda?]

Washington Times
October 24, 2001
Females Kept Off Ground For Special-Ops Missions 
By Rowan Scarborough, The Washington Times
American female pilots are dropping bombs on Afghanistan, but when it comes
to boots on the ground, they are barred by law from joining
special-operations missions to kill terrorists.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has said commandos will play a big role
in eliminating al Qaeda in Afghanistan and other terror networks around the
world. But in the special "ops" community, women are restricted to two
noncombat specialties.
"Women are not allowed in combat arms," said Col. Bill Darley, spokesman for
U.S. Special Operations Command, which is supporting operations in
Afghanistan. "We've got lots of women. There are tons of women in SOF, but
they are in civil affairs and psyops [psychological warfare]. There are none
in combat arms."
Said an Army officer: "I have worked with women in a covert mode that were
great. They were as devious as anyone else, and some were cold-blooded
killers. But, on average, men are better suited to the job. But a
cold-blooded woman does have the advantage of access and placement. The
problem is that they stand out in the Muslim world and are afforded inferior
status there."
The same federal law that bans women from ground combat jobs such as
infantry and field artillery also applies to covert warriors. The Rangers,
Green Berets and Delta Force troops who infiltrated Afghanistan this past
week belonged to all-male units.
Special-operation forces also ban female aviators from piloting their Black
Hawks and other helicopters. This is a break from the conventional combat
branches, which allow female combat pilots.
A Defense Department advisory committee has pushed the Pentagon to change
this rule. But the department has refused, saying in a letter, "There is
public reluctance for women to be in positions involving direct
(hand-to-hand ground) combat. Most women would not meet the physical
qualifications for some rigorous career fields (Rangers, Seals, Special
Forces) or the physical requirements for close-in, hand-to-hand combat in
other career fields."
The Navy, Air Force and Army allow women to fly bombers, fighters and
helicopter gunships under a policy approved by President Clinton. He
retained, however, the ban on direct land combat. Defense officials said
yesterday there were no plans to move that line.
Since the change in 1994, a Pentagon panel, the Defense Advisory Committee
on Women in the Services (DACOWITS), has urged the defense secretary to
change the rule so women may operate long-range artillery and fly
special-operations helicopters. But each time, the answer comes back "no."
The rejection is based on the doctrine that special-operations aviators may
have to take part in what the community calls "direct action" - attacking
and killing the enemy.
DACOWITS, a mostly female panel of 33 members, is not impressed.
"There is insufficient evidence that special operations forces rotary wing
aviation crews 'collocate' [place together] with units involved in direct
ground combat," the committee wrote in a unanimous recommendation.
"Generally, SOF aviators have the potential to be exposed to contact with
the enemy on the ground only when the mission fails."
Gen. Charles R. Holland, who heads U.S. Special Operations Command and plays
a key role in executing the current campaign in Afghanistan, has headed off
DACOWITS' maneuver. The four-star general wrote a letter to personnel
officials stating, "The command does not concur with the conclusions of
DACOWITS. SOF rotary wing aviation crews are doctrinally required to
collocate with ground combat units during many SOF mission profiles. Direct
action has always been a primary mission of SOF, and contrary to the
DACOWITS assertion, involves direct ground combat."
Military women in conventional warfare have flown combat missions since the
mid-1990s. They have released bombs over Iraq and Kosovo, and enforced
no-fly zones north and south of Baghdad.
The Navy, after unleashing a post-Tailhook-scandal media blitz to announce
the first female combat pilots, today downplays the sex significance, as do
the women themselves.
"I've never thought that it was a big deal that I was an aviator. I just go
out there and do my job," says Lt. j.g. Sara, who has flown attack missions
over Afghanistan from the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
"I don't like to see women singled out," Lt. Sara, the only female combat
pilot on the Roosevelt, told the Associated Press. For security reasons,
only Lt. Sara's first name and her "Goalie" call sign can be disclosed.
The Roosevelt, whose home port is in Norfolk, arrived on scene last week and
was dispatching F-14 Tomcats and Marine Corps F-18C Hornets to bomb Taliban
militia and troops in Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terror network.
The Navy first sexually integrated auxiliary ships in the 1970s and allowed
women to fly land-based support aircraft. Seven years ago, Congress lifted
the prohibition against women serving on combat aircraft and ships,
including carriers. A 5,000-sailor crew typically includes fewer than 500
women.
"I've always felt very comfortable being a female in the aviation community
ever since I walked into flight school," Lt. Sara told AP. "There aren't
many of us, that's true, but I think [the men´s and women´s] personalities
mesh; otherwise, we wouldn't be in this job."
The Air Force's main combat contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom has
been heavy bombers: B-1Bs, B-2s and B-52s.
An Air Force spokeswoman said women have piloted B-1B missions. The plane
typically drops 2,000-pound satellite-guided bombs on fixed military
targets, such as barracks, radars and surface-to-air missiles. Two female
officers are training to become B-2 stealth bomber pilots, but none is now
in the cockpit.
The Air Force has 16 female bomber pilots of a total 759, and 43 female
fighter pilots out of 3,491 total.

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