If the mission is not being accomplished, the unit is ineffective (Frum, 2013, n.pag) A second concern surrounding the integration of women into ground combat roles is that such integration could jeopardize male soldiers' abilities to 'put the mission before the man' (Christopher, n
In her essay titled, 'Women at Arms: The Combat Controversy', Francine D'Amico (1996) presents the argument that excluding women from combat roles is irrelevant since women are already proven combatants. She argues that in the modern-day battlefield, the line between combat and combat-related jobs has become increasingly blurred as weapon ranges and troop mobility have increased substantially (D'Amico, 1996)
She points out in her article, 'The Problems of Women in Combat -- From a Female Combat Vet', that the Navy perfectly demonstrated this when they began allowing female soldiers on ship -- jealousy fomented and perceptions of favoritism began to emerge; relationships went sour, sexual assaults became prominent and soldiers lost faith in their colleagues, some even beginning to fear them. In the end, there was disunity among team members and unit cohesion suffered (Eden, 2013)
Egnell (2014) supports this view, expressing that although sexual relations are inevitable whenever men and women are kept in close contact for prolonged periods, effective unit leadership could go a long way to ensure that group cohesion is not ruined as a result. In his view, therefore, unit cohesion is a function of leadership and cohesion more than it is one of team composition (Egnell, 2014)
The Pentagon recently announced that the military needed to open up all roles in frontline ground that were previously closed to women by January 1st, 2016. This announcement has been a subject of massive debate, with some arguing that the integration of women into combat roles would ruin unit cohesion and consequently, military effectiveness (Frum, 2013; Alderman, 1992)
Based on this announcement, this thesis seeks to establish how one specific area of counterinsurgency operations -- CI/HUMINT collection -- stands to benefit from the integration of women into the combat environment. Women in Combat: The Effect of Integration on CI/HUMINT Collection Introduction The success of any counterinsurgency operation depends partly on the effectiveness of the intelligence function driving the operation (Goh, Hao & Tay, 2008)
Harrell and Miller (1997) replicated these findings -- they concluded in their study that gender differences alone had no significant effect on unit cohesion. The integration of females, therefore, would have no significant effect on morale, readiness and overall cohesion as long as the unit had the right leadership and members remained committed to the task at hand (Harrell & Miller, 1997)
Harries-Jenkins (2002), for instance, found no direct evidence to prove that such integration would impact negatively on combat effectiveness. He posits that women have served in combat roles during the Persian Gulf War and even in the recent war in Iraq - they were taken prisoner, wounded and killed, just like their male counterparts, and there is no indication that their participation affected the military's overall level of effectiveness (Harries-Jenkins, 2002)
Being ready incorporates a variety of elements, one of the main ones being the state of health that one is in and the availability of healthcare upon deployment (Feitz & Nagel, 2008). In addition to the questions of unit cohesion and combat effectiveness, researchers have raised concern about the personal health of women in military units (Hoglund & Schwartz, 2014)
The introduction of female marines, however, through such initiatives as the Women Empowerment Program (WEP) provided a certain calming effect to the Iraqi women and reassured them that the whole course was geared at protecting their welfare so they did not have to feel intimidated whenever they encountered routine military operations in their neighborhoods and streets (Al-Ali & Pratt, 2009). A Source of Emotional Support to other Crew Members Besides providing support to local populations during combat operations, women have also been shown to be a source of emotional and psychological support for their male crew members (Holmstedt, 2008)
military -- our assignments are taking longer than usual, and our CI/HUMINT intelligence function seems far from perfect. This manifested clearly during the Iraqi war, when the intelligence community found itself relying on old and outdated information, and thereby landing conclusions that were largely inaccurate and misleading (Kerr, et al
The researchers administered the Leymann Inventory of Psychological Terror (LIPT) to 443 soldiers in the Austrian Armed Forces -- the study established that 6.5% of female soldiers had been victims of some form of long-term, severe bullying (Koeszegi et al
W. Knotts argues that there are women out there who want to serve in the military protecting their fellow countrymen; and they ought to be given the opportunity to actualize their passion (Knotts, 1996)
In addition to the questions of unit cohesion and combat effectiveness, researchers have raised concern about the personal health of women in military units (Hoglund & Schwartz, 2014). The most common of these concerns have touched on the mental health of women (Hoglund & Schwartz, 2014) and their reproductive health (Manski et al
Based on this announcement, this thesis seeks to examine how the field of CI/HUMINT collection is deemed to benefit from such integration, and what needs to be done to ensure that the maximum benefits of integration are realized. Background to the Study There is no doubt that women have served in the American military for a long time, typically playing the role of spies, cooks, and nurses (McSally, 2007)
Today magazine, Jim Michaels (2014) recognizes the fundamental role played by female marines in Iraq and Afghanistan, and asserts that women interested in taking up combat positions be accorded opportunities to do so. He, however, proposes that since such jobs as infantry and Special Forces have traditionally been closed to them, interested women ought to be encouraged to take up relevant military courses so that they are well-prepared for the challenges that await them in the battlefield (Michaels, 2014)
The author mentions that the mere presence of female soldiers on the ground created an immediate calming and reassuring atmosphere between locals and American soldiers. The Iraqi women were more at peace discussing crucial subjects about counterinsurgency operations with female marines better than with their male counterparts (Moghaddam, 2014)
Rosen and his colleagues (2003) argue that in fact, the integration of women in ground combat roles could help to build unit cohesion. They base their argument on the culture of hyper masculinity (HM) in military units (Rosen et al
McSally (2007) and Root (2010) concur that we are currently living in a push-button era where physical strength in the battlefield is not as important as 'street smarts'. Traditionally, HUMINT was collected mainly through spies or through physically abusive and manipulative techniques (Root, 2010)
Critics of integration have argued that there is no proof that women carry their mothering and nurturing qualities beyond the associations that they share with their families. We are, however, poised to accept the argument that women are naturally more nurturing than men based on the idea presented in Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory and Skinner's reinforcement theory (Sanderson, 2009)