Tuesday marked the 90th annual Veterans Day holiday, honoring American veterans who have defended their country’s freedom. Current and former members of the United States Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy all have worn their respective uniforms to ensure our country remains the best in the world.
In a perfect world, each service member would be treated equally, as is stated for all people in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution they defend.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Even worse is that it’s the U.S. government who is treating its troops, namely those of the female gender, unfairly.
Although nothing is fair about war, when women are not being trained on combat situations in the same manner that men are, it is an immense disadvantage to those trying to survive in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are no defined front lines in these areas and women are now being forced to take part in some of the wars most horrific battles.
Filmmakers Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers have portrayed these events in their documentary on women in combat (Lioness). The film depicts how Army troops Spc. Shannon Morgan, Spc. Rebecca Nava, Maj. Kate Pendry Guttormsen, Capt. Anastasia Breslow and Staff Sgt. Ranie Ruthig survived combat situations in Iraq while having been inadequately trained to deal with them.
Because of customary Iraqi rules, men are not allowed to touch or search native women. This caused the military to place women in Army and Marine convoys and search details in Ramadi, Iraq, some of whom were ambushed.
As for many troops returning for war, combat situations only begin the struggles. The film also captures how these women suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
The film shows that even though women are prohibited from serving on the front lines of a war, there are always gray areas that can make the unexpected become reality.
"(Lioness) takes a position that we need to talk about and recognize what women are doing," McLagan told The New York Times. "The gap between policy and the reality needs to be closed."
The hope is that this war will end soon and none of this will matter in the future, but that doesn’t seem likely and the problem needs to be dealt with.
If there is even a remote possibility that a soldier will be in harm’s way, they need to be trained for those situations. Besides, what’s the point in carrying a weapon if you can’t use it?
