Military Review English Edition March-April 2016 | Page 71

BIASES

(Photo courtesy of YPG)

A female fighter from the Syrian-based People’s Protection Units (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel, or YPG) scans forward of her position
looking for Islamic State enemy fighters, 14 July 2015.

Biases of the
Incumbents

What If We Were Integrating
Men into a Women’s Army?
Col. Karl E. Friedl, U.S. Army, Retired

A

udie Murphy was too short and too light to
join the U.S. Navy or the Marine Corps, but
when the Army gave him an opportunity
to serve, he went on to become our most decorated
soldier. Military entrance standards clearly fail to
predict some remarkable military performances. The
presence of a Y chromosome has also not held up as a
MILITARY REVIEW  March-April 2016

useful discriminator of soldiering, but still we in the
United States have not given women an equal opportunity to serve with distinction in combat.1
With women in Ranger training, the U.S. Army
is moving toward a new, enlightened perspective.
It is changing the focus from trying to define what
an entire group cannot do and, instead, it is seeking
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