Software Vault: The Gold Collection/Software Vault - The Gold Collection (American Databankers) (1993).ISO/cdr12/gunlady.zip/GUNLADY.TXT

Text File | 1993-05-03 | 9KB | 149 lines

                         U.S. Military Women in Combat!

                                 Picayunes by
                                 Gary Raymond
                             Compuserve 70613,3165
                        Copy(c)right, 1993, New Orleans

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      Recently, sweeping changes in military policy have been enacted
      that allow women to actively participate in combat roles. This
      change has raised the eyebrow of a wide variety of citizens with
      viewpoints that range from shock and disbelief supported by simple
      old fashion ideas of what constitutes gentlemanly versus gentile
      conduct to outright male chauvinism. In analysing this situation,
      I find myself asking two basic questions. First, should they be
      allowed to do it?, and second, can they do it effectively once
      allowed? Obviously, the first question has already been acted on.

      Occasionally I am called upon as an expert witness in matters of
      aviation because of my background as a former airline pilot,
      flight instructor, pilot examiner and or flight school operator.
      So, I feel I am reasonably able to examine the second question (as
      it relates to female combat pilots) and "wing it" on the first.
      First, lets reexamine "should they be allowed to do it?".

      I presently do not see any supportable arguments, either legal or
      physical, that can be used to decline women combat roles. So, it
      appears to be more of a cultural issue rather than one based on
      analysis of any other facts. The cultural aspect is powerful in
      its traditional roots. American men have always tended to revere
      the role of women as mother, homemaker and housewife; and, men
      have always provided all the protection those roles required.
      Times change, values change, culture changes. Yet understanding
      this does not make it any easier for a decent traditional male to
      allow his woman to fight, either along his side or in his place.
      Nevertheless, forces seem to be at work that are driving the
      entire world towards more of a unisexual atmosphere in the
      workplace. Gender is slowly becoming less and less a factor as
      women take on roles traditionally held by males, and vice versa.
      Today, it is not uncommon to find male nurses and male flight
      attendants along with female policemen, firefighters, construction
      personnel etc.

      My conclusion regarding "should they" is yes, even if it is after
      the fact. To me, the decision was both a symbolic and pragmatic
      thing to do. Symbolic, in as much as enlightened men should now be
      willing to eliminate all restrictions to career access that were
      formerly traditionally closed to females. Pragmatic, because it
      allows women choices that invariably will not change the desire of
      the majority to continue in their more traditional roles as
      homemaker and housewife. The big insight most liberated women have
      come to grasp with in the eighties-nineties is how great it
      actually was to be a mother and housewife. This is repeatedly
      demonstrated, as more and more career women, desire to return to
      their former traditional roles.

      Finally, regarding the question "can they do it?", my answer is a
      big loud yes. This, unfortunately, has yet to be tested. I know
      this position will not harbor well with many of my former
      colleagues who stedfastly maintain that women who fly well are a
      extreme aberration of statistics. I have even heard some claim
      that for every good female pilot there is a male pilot trying to
      escape from the female form. Without delving into the feminine or
      hormonal aspects of flying females, I prefer to stick with facts
      as I have come to know them. In my career as a flight instructor
      and pilot examiner, I have had frequent opportunity to both meet,
      train, examine and work with many women pilots.

      Let me begin with the female as a student pilot. Unquestionable,
      in my mind, they make better students than their male
      counterparts. My experience indicated that women learn quicker
      because of their willingness to learn by rote (show and do) as
      compared to men, who desire a rational beforehand for every
      procedure and, continually, through out each exercise. Women will
      readily accept what you show them, apply it, and worry about the
      physics of it later. And, regarding ground school, women tend to
      outshine the guys as well. Their assignments are generally better
      prepared, they are more punctual and their grades are higher.

      Male pilots appear to be a bit better able to instinctively
      rationalize the consequences of events as compared to their female
      counterparts. Perhaps this coincides with their desire to
      continually rationalize their way through the learning experience.
      Since it is my desire to keep this article non technical, I will
      refrain from examples here. But, if anyone is interested, I will
      be happy to supply dozens of examples. How much of an edge this
      might give a man in a combat situations, if an edge at all, is not
      within my expertise to comment on. Men also have demonstrated
      higher levels of aggression than their female counterparts. How
      advantageous this might be today, considering aerial combat is
      frequently performed at great distances from the enemy, is also
      unknown to me. It is not uncommon for the attacker to never have
      visual contact with his adversary. Although the romantic notion of
      an ariel dogfight is still possible, it is more the exception
      today rather than the rule.

      On another level, women tend to be more competitive in the
      aviation arena. Perhaps its due to there relatively low numbers in
      a career field that continues to be dominated by men. This can
      sometimes be annoying to male pilots, who after training, are very
      prone to desire to kick back and return to the more atypical pilot
      hedonistic life style.

      As with any of us who fly, we each have an overload point that can
      be reached by the constant introduction of additional tasks to be
      performed concurrently with those already required. The ability of
      a pilot to multi task, similar to a personal computer, is of the
      utmost importance in the cockpit. A typical example is talking on
      the radio, understanding clearances and weather information, all
      the while maintaining the avigation (control) of the craft,
      calculating navigational changes and positions, fuel management,
      pressurization management, planning ahead of your present
      requirements, dealing with passenger needs, and finally, coping
      concurrently with all of the above while handling the distractions
      and possibilities of any one or combinations of hundreds of
      possible emergency situations.

      While administering pilot exams in accordance with the current
      flight standards as set forth by the FAA, distraction was always a
      testing requirement of all certificates and ratings. Distraction
      was usually presented in the form of some task involving a
      simulated emergency. These distractions might range from simply
      dropping the pilot's pencil to the deck at the very moment he
      needs it to copy an important clearance on the radio, and or
      simulating the complete failure of the aircraft power plant. I was
      never able to discern any differences in performance between male
      or female pilots who were properly trained. I am aware of other
      examiners who will disagree with me. But, in my conclusion, I see
      no reason why women should not share the responsibilities of
      combat aviation military duties.

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