Women in Combat
Over the last two months, I have been heavily exposed to World War II veterans, fliers who risked their lives in B-17s over Europe flying against the Nazi war machine. Many of our aviation crew were teen agers, rarely over 22, they volunteered, many mid-west plow boys. I am a docent volunteer at a museum honoring one of the bomb groups that flew four squadrons of the 17s from England over acres and acres of German anti-aircraft 88 guns. As an average, at the end of the war, counting all of the bomber groups, for every four B-17s we sent over, we lost about two.
The average age of the crew was nineteen, youngest that I know of was sixteen of the ten man crew, all volunteers. None were drafted to fly. Not one.
Painted on the side of their bombers, often were pictures of naked women. Ask some of them why, they will tell you, " that's what we are fighting for." In jest perhaps, but the girls on the side of the ship were and still are symbols of what they love back home. Good luck charms. All of the crew smack 'em before boarding, throw a " wish me luck, baby !!," and crawl into the cramped spaces, man their guns and await take-off.
In today's Air Force, women have taken over some of those spots and have demaned that the "nose-art" be removed, and it has. Women do fly bombers, fly fighter planes, man forward positions near combat areas. This change in policy was done during the Clinton Administration, quietly with little public input, as I recall. There was not an outcry from the public. No Congressional hearing, no public vote, it was just quietly.
Some time last year a reporter interviewed a female colonel about women flying combat missions and the colonel - I am paraphrasing - said, apparently there is no public outcry against it. No big deal, she said.
Of course not. The public at large did not know it. I did not, either.
I live in the desert in southern Arizona. While attending to my laundry one Saturday afternoon, I bumped into an Air Force Major, a woman with pilots wings also doing laundry. She was in a flight suit which I thought odd, out in the middle of the city, flight suit, boots, wings, slinging laundry.
She caught my eye, averted, sat down and read a book. Eventually, we talked about her flight status. She was irritated at me even asking.
" It doesn't matter, " she said, " man or woman, a fighter pilot is a fighter pilot. We do the job, " she finished, head down buried in the book. I said something soothing to smooth out the ruffled feathers...about base life, about when I was flying in the Air Force. Asked her what she was doing during her tour her locally.
" They've got me on a desk now, doing supply functions, " she snapped.
Grounded. Aha. With that attitude as her CO, I don't thing I would have her in the skies with machine guns at her finger tips either.
I hate the idea of women in combat, I never have liked it, and I never will. Call it machismo, deeply ingrained male instinct, whatever you like, I don't care. I have spoken to many men my age and they ALL feel that way. I detest living in a country where women feel they must protect me. Since time inmemorial, it has always been the other way around.
Having heard women say, " I can take care of myself," that is an open invitation to a news paper report of an attack, rape or murder in the next few days. My daughter Michelle who fled my home for Chicago, unarmed to life in the big city found out the hard way, got mugged by vicious scum and wound up in Chicago's hospitals as a result.
The largest growth in gun sales today is in the female market. As it should be. It saddens me that the liberal part of America has conned our distaff side of our culture that in believing they can " have it all," they have put the softer side of our country in harms way.
And, as long as I am capable of lifting a rifle, I will defend them to the death.
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The average age of the crew was nineteen, youngest that I know of was sixteen of the ten man crew, all volunteers. None were drafted to fly. Not one.
Painted on the side of their bombers, often were pictures of naked women. Ask some of them why, they will tell you, " that's what we are fighting for." In jest perhaps, but the girls on the side of the ship were and still are symbols of what they love back home. Good luck charms. All of the crew smack 'em before boarding, throw a " wish me luck, baby !!," and crawl into the cramped spaces, man their guns and await take-off.
In today's Air Force, women have taken over some of those spots and have demaned that the "nose-art" be removed, and it has. Women do fly bombers, fly fighter planes, man forward positions near combat areas. This change in policy was done during the Clinton Administration, quietly with little public input, as I recall. There was not an outcry from the public. No Congressional hearing, no public vote, it was just quietly.
Some time last year a reporter interviewed a female colonel about women flying combat missions and the colonel - I am paraphrasing - said, apparently there is no public outcry against it. No big deal, she said.
Of course not. The public at large did not know it. I did not, either.
I live in the desert in southern Arizona. While attending to my laundry one Saturday afternoon, I bumped into an Air Force Major, a woman with pilots wings also doing laundry. She was in a flight suit which I thought odd, out in the middle of the city, flight suit, boots, wings, slinging laundry.
She caught my eye, averted, sat down and read a book. Eventually, we talked about her flight status. She was irritated at me even asking.
" It doesn't matter, " she said, " man or woman, a fighter pilot is a fighter pilot. We do the job, " she finished, head down buried in the book. I said something soothing to smooth out the ruffled feathers...about base life, about when I was flying in the Air Force. Asked her what she was doing during her tour her locally.
" They've got me on a desk now, doing supply functions, " she snapped.
Grounded. Aha. With that attitude as her CO, I don't thing I would have her in the skies with machine guns at her finger tips either.
I hate the idea of women in combat, I never have liked it, and I never will. Call it machismo, deeply ingrained male instinct, whatever you like, I don't care. I have spoken to many men my age and they ALL feel that way. I detest living in a country where women feel they must protect me. Since time inmemorial, it has always been the other way around.
Having heard women say, " I can take care of myself," that is an open invitation to a news paper report of an attack, rape or murder in the next few days. My daughter Michelle who fled my home for Chicago, unarmed to life in the big city found out the hard way, got mugged by vicious scum and wound up in Chicago's hospitals as a result.
The largest growth in gun sales today is in the female market. As it should be. It saddens me that the liberal part of America has conned our distaff side of our culture that in believing they can " have it all," they have put the softer side of our country in harms way.
And, as long as I am capable of lifting a rifle, I will defend them to the death.
###
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