Summary of Incorporated Changes Assignment 3 1

¶ … Military # Combat # Women Summary of Incorporated Changes Originally, my study was geared at examining the role of women in the noncombatant arm of the military, particularly intelligence collection. More specifically, it was directed at determining why women are likely to perform better than men in HUMINT collection, and why, therefore, therefore, the military stands to benefit from increasing their role in the same.

My thesis committee, however, thinks that the study would be more viable and relevant if it covered the role of women not only in the noncombat arm, but in the combat arm as well. According to Ms. Amanda Bowers, one of the three committee members, the inclusion of women in combat roles in the military is the newest and most controversial subject among military officials today, and the study stands to realize a greater impact and be more relevant to the prevailing situation if it incorporates the same.

For this reason, I have modified my thesis statement to cover the role of women in combat as well as in the noncombat arm. The new topic for the proposed study, therefore, reads, "The Role of Women in Combat and in HUMINT Intelligence Gathering." The thesis will now seek to determine how the military stands to benefit from increasing the participation of women in the combat arm, particularly artillery, armor and infantry, and in the intelligence gathering function.

I will be intent on assessing the viability of these two strategies as possibilities for streamlining military operations, and reducing the time taken by the military in external combat assignments. To incorporate these changes, I had to modify the research questions.

Originally, the study was based on two research questions -- i) why are women considered effective in the role of HUMINT intelligence gathering; and ii) what are the advantages of using women in the collection of HUMINT? Owing to the expanded scope of the thesis, three additional research questions have been formulated.

These are: i) What biological qualities enhance women's effectiveness in the combat arm? There is no doubt that men are more aggressive than women, which is perhaps why they have historically been given preference in primary roles in the combat arm. However, studies have shown that this very aggressive nature of the male species causes it to be more prone to injuries and accidents. A study by Thompson (2013) showed that military men report twice as many eye injuries as their female counterparts in combat operations.

Experts believe the low injury rates for military women are due to the fact that women are biologically more nurturing, and their basic form of nurturing, motherhood, causes them to injure or crash themselves less often.

To add credence to the role of women in the combat arm, the study will review the autobiographies of women who served in active duty in the two post-9/11 theatres of war -- Iraq and Afghanistan, to obtain a first-hand account of how they approached the battlefield, the specific strategies they used to protect themselves from injury, and the specific factors that drove them to want to take caution and return home safe.

ii) Do women react any differently from men in repeated combat deployments? This question seeks to determine whether there are any differences in how military men and women react to repeated deployments. We will examine the PTSD levels of men and women upon assignment completion (as documented in Pentagon reports since 9/11), differences in their perception of courage, and how difficult it is for soldiers to reintegrate into the society after a combat assignment.

Studies have shown the differences between the two to be only very slight, with women being relatively weaker than men (Thomson, 2013). I will interact with various Pentagon reports in the post-9/11 period to prove this, and show that as long as standards can be properly set and enforced, the differences would be easily surmountable, and the military could realize the full benefits of including women in the combat arm.

iii) What problems are likely to result from the inclusion of women in the combat arm of the military? What are the possible solutions for addressing the same? Experts have raised concern that an attempt to increase the participation of women in combat roles could end up being dangerous for the force.

Some of the likely problems include sexual promiscuity and increased pregnancy rates and hostility between military men and women, particularly if the latter feel that the former are being favored or the standards are being bent to accommodate women (Frum, 2013). Studies and articles examining these issues, and their potential solutions will be reviewed to assess just how viable the raised issues are, and how effectively they have.