Today's female military member receives training completely different from the training given to female recruits during World War II. She participates in physical training alongside her male recruit counterpart and takes many of the same classes. Even though she receives training on using different weapons and may be trained to jump out of planes, she will not be directly assigned to a ground combat unit, even though she may face enemy fire.
History
After the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, Congress approved the creation of the Women's Army Air Corps and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill into law in May 1942, according to the Army.mil website. The first WAAC training center was located at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, and women began to arrive at the center in July, 1942. Women from the ages of 21 to 45 were encouraged to enlist.
WAAC training consisted of military customs, drill and ceremonies, map reading, company administration, and supply and mess management. Upon completing training the WAAC were assigned to a Table of Organization, unless a specific WAAC was tapped to replace a male soldier. Duties for WAACs in the TO were limited to cooks, clerks, typists, drivers or unit cadre, according to the Army.mil website.
Significance
Women in the military have been exposed to training opportunities equal to their male counterparts -- but are barred from serving in direct combat positions. In stark contrast to their WAAC predecessors in WWII, today's female military members train as combat pilots, logistics specialists, intelligence officers, in support roles for the infantry, mechanics, paratroopers and every other role except those placing them into combat positions, according to the Army.mil website.
Function
Today's military basic training for female recruits is shaped because of the influence of the Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces. This commission decided to continue the long-standing ban on women serving in combat positions because women cannot meet the physical requirements that ground combat positions impose; and because the presence of women in ground combat units could lead to the erosion of unit cohesion.
The PCAWAF determined that, while some women can meet ground combat physical standards, this was still not enough to lift the ban on placing women into combat positions.
Effects
Women have proven that they can withstand the rigors of military basic training. As an example, in 1950, the Parachute Rigger course was added to the curriculum at the Quartermaster Jump School, located at Fort Lee, Virginia. Women were not eligible to qualify for this school because they were not jump qualified. In 1972, a new Military Occupational Specialty, 43E was added to the Women's Army Corp active duty list, allowing female soldiers to take this course and learn how to jump from military planes. For the first time, women were being assigned to airborne units and jumping, using their own parachutes, according to the Army.mil website.
In June 1975, weapons training for women in the Army became mandatory. This training included small arms weapons, the light antitank weapon, the Claymore mine, 40mm grenade launcher and the M60 machine gun. After this, combined basic training was made policy in 1977.
Considerations
Women serving in today's military fill supply and support roles, making it possible for them to come under enemy fire alongside their male counterparts, according to the University of Hawai'i at Hilo.
Military units assigned to "police functions" face the possibility of encountering insurgents and coming under fire. Regardless of gender, members of these units can suffer injuries or die. When the unit's role is considered to be a peace operation or a police function, and not a war zone, the military is more willing to place women in dangerous roles. One well-known female soldier who was a prisoner of war is Specialist Jessica Lynch, formerly of the 507th Maintenance Company, of Fort Bliss, Texas. She was taken prisoner by Iraqi forces shortly after the beginning of hostilities in March, 2003, according to the POW Network.
Today, the U.S. Army uses two versions of the physical fitness test. Men are required to meet a higher standard of physical fitness. The current test, when applied to women, makes them appear less fit and overweight in comparison to male soldiers, writes the University of Hawai'i at Hilo.
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