Men and women are treated unequally in regards to military service. Men are required to register for the Selective service. With very rare exceptions, every man residing in the United States 18 to 26 years of age is required by the Military Selective Service Act to register with the Selective Service System (Quindlen 1). Yet, on the eve of war with Iraq

There are millions of male Iraqis waiting to go to war with us and only one of them is weaker than our best woman. I understand why men in the U.S. army are worried about the cohesion of their ranks, if women are allowed into the combat zones. A study was performed by the Royal British Army to show just how much differences there are between men and women in wartime conditions. In one exercise, women failed almost every time carrying 90 pounds of shells over a specified area, while men only failed a few times (Dougherty 4). Let’s change it around a little bit then, if the average women cannot carry 90 pounds, 90 percent of the time; I don’t believe it’s much chance of her carrying her wounded comrades out of danger.

Currently, men and women of the U.S. military must pass fitness test, which are tailored to age and gender. There are no tests that measure certain skills required for special military tasks in combat zones. Some people question if women can handle the gravitational forces that they would face in an aircraft, till present there is no evidence to prove that men can handle it no better than women (Kirkwood 1). It’s interesting to point out that men and women believe that the standards for fitness in the military should be the same for both.

As the world is thrust into the beginning of the twenty-first century, the question of gender segregation and exclusion from military combat situations continues to be the center of much disagreement and debate. Female citizens by all means should be guaranteed the same opportunities for advancement and freedom into the United States Armed Forces as men are given. However, these opportunities that women possess in the military should not come at the expense or sacrifice the lives or injustice that could and will happen if women are allowed on the battlefield. In closing I’m leaving a quote from Sa

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