Female MP gets Silver Star—does that disprove my point?

I had written:

As for its being a fact, first, Medved was not stating a fact, as women are not using guns, except for the tiny handful who may be flying fighters or manning guns on ships.

Reader Ken writes:

Not using guns? What do you imagine women soldiers do when they get shot at? Respond with harsh language and disapproving looks? They don’t all shoot as well as in this news story, but they do shoot.

Tennessee woman awarded Silver Star
Sergeant is first female to get medal since World War II

… According to military accounts of the firefight, insurgents attacked the convoy as it traveled south of Baghdad, launching their assault from trenches alongside the road using rifles, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Hester and her unit moved through enemy fire to the trenches, attacking them with grenades before entering and clearing them.

She killed at least three insurgents with her M4 rifle, according to her award citation. In the entire battle, 26 or 27 insurgents were killed and several more were captured, according to various accounts. Several Americans were also wounded in the firefight.

Also note:

Her unit deployed to Iraq in November 2004 and remains in the Baghdad area, escorting convoys and assisting the Iraqi Highway Patrol.

It wasn’t a tragic accident that had her wind up in a firefight. A year and a half into the war, the army knew exactly what would happen when they assigned her to escort convoys through RPG Alley. Congress might believe it’s not a combat assignment but the Iraqis are pretty clear that it is.

My reply:

I’m aware that women are in support units, or, as in this case, military police units, attached to combat battalions and sometimes find themselves in fire fights. I acknowledged the ambiguity of the present situation, that women are not supposed to be in combat, but increasingly are. My point is that Medved both endorses the present degree of women in combat and would regularize and widen it.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at July 02, 2005 10:16 AM | Send