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Drafting Daughters To Fight America’s Wars

Bush-appointed judge rules women must register for Selective Service
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USA Today reports:

A federal judge in Texas has declared that the all-male military draft is unconstitutional, ruling that “the time has passed” for a debate on whether women belong in the military.

The decision deals the biggest legal blow to the Selective Service System since the Supreme Court upheld the draft in 1981. In Rostker v. Goldberg, the court ruled that the male-only draft was “fully justified” because women were ineligible for combat roles.

But U.S. District Judge Gray Miller ruled late Friday that while historical restrictions on women serving in combat “may have justified past discrimination,” men and women are now equally able to fight. In 2015, the Pentagon lifted all restrictions for women in military service.

The case was brought by the National Coalition For Men, a men’s rights group, and two men who argued the all-male draft was unfair.

Men who fail to register with the Selective Service System at their 18th birthday can be denied public benefits such as federal employment and student loans. Women cannot register for Selective Service.

Read the whole thing. 

Here’s a link to the text of the judge’s decision. I’ve read it, and it seems to me (I welcome correction) that the judge is saying that because the government in 2013 deemed women fit to serve in combat roles, there is no longer any justification for exempting women for the draft, given that the purpose of a military draft would be to raise an army to fight a war.

I can put up with draft registration, but the day the United States Government attempts to draft my daughter is the day that I take her abroad to dodge this unjust law. The idea that the US Government would compel our daughters — not “offer them the opportunity to,” but compel — to go into combat because of egalitarian cultural madness is dangerous and offensive.

Israel is alone in the world in having mandatory conscription for young women as well as young men, and I understand why Israel, given its extraordinarily vulnerability (that is, it’s tiny, and is surrounded by enemies), has this policy.

But America is not Israel. You have to wonder if an American government that would frog-march its young women to the front lines is an American government worth obeying. Well, maybe you have to wonder it; I damn sure don’t.

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UPDATE: A friend writes:

”Girls, let’s do a refresher course: If you’re going to play a sport (including wrestling) you’ll have to do it against people with a Y chromosome and a penis, and you’ll also have to share bathrooms with those people, and you’ll be drafted into the armed forces to fight the forever wars caused and led almost exclusively by those same people — so when are you going to thank us for rescuing you from the evils of patriarchy?”

UPDATE.2: Reader Chuckie (not our dear Uncle Chuckie) writes:

Former Marine here and current father of a beautiful athletic 17-year-old daughter who would be impacted by this. I’ll come at this pragmatically. I wouldn’t mind including females in the draft. Just because one is in the military doesn’t mean that one is in a combat role.

Forcing females into combat roles for egalitarian purposes is a different, even if related, issue. There are two issues at hand here.

1) The physical issue. Physically, a few women might be strong enough to perform well in infantry and other related combat roles, but most are not. I’ve been at the PT course. Most women can’t do 3 unaided pull ups much less carry a 200+ pound wounded man off the battlefield (Marines don’t leave wounded behind), carry a heavy pack and weapons 20+ miles, or successfully survive hand to hand combat with another male. In my opinion, if women are allowed in combat roles, they need to pass the same rigorous physical fitness tests and other high-stress mental tests as men. This might work especially if those special men and women in combat roles receive materially higher pay (combat pay, hazardous duty pay, etc.) and notoriety.

2) The mental/emotional/morale issue. This issue is harder for me to reconcile while remaining politically correct. It can’t be emphasized how important morale is to be effective in a high stress environment. Face it, these are mostly 18 to 23-year-old men and women at the peak of their hormonal/sexual lives. Throw young men and women together in extremely close quarters, and under enormous stress, and weird things happen whether you like it or not. They just do. Throw in the increased probability of women getting raped if captured (or even while in unit of young men under stress) and this issue makes me extremely squeamish. However, a highly trained and disciplined fighting force could probably get over most mental/emotional issues.

Say my daughter actually desired to be in a combat unit, passed all the tests and accepted all the risks that go with it (including sexual); while also receiving higher pay and higher notoriety for performing in a combat unit. I would accept that situation even if I’d hate it personally. Sure, allow women to be drafted, but ensure that rules and policies are in place to ensure our fighting force standards aren’t lowered to accommodate civilian political purposes.

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