Aug 19 2009
Women can soldier, but do they get combat pay yet?
“I did everything there. I gunned. I drove. I ran as a truck commander. And underneath it all, I was a medic.”
- Soldier Veronica Alfaro, on serving in Iraq.
While it is nothing new to military members that women make up 1 in 20 troops on the ground at war in the Middle East, the “New York Times” ran an article over the weekend that addressed the issue, and said nothing about the disparities of pay.
As a former U.S. Navy Journalist, in the 1980s we pushed for equal pay. Even in the military, women are paid less, and because women are not allowed to participate in combat zones, they are not eligible for combat pay. I haven’t been able to ascertain if that caveat still applies today.
However, as the Times article displayed women are clearly an integral part of the war, in combat, and all billets necessary.
“We’ve needed — needed — the contributions of both our men and women,” said Brig. Gen. Mary A. Legere, the director of intelligence for the American war effort here and one of only two highest ranking women in Iraq, as quoted by the Times, which continued: The military, of course, is not gender blind, especially in a war zone.Sexual harassment in a still-predominantly male institution remains a problem. So does sexual assault. Both are underreported, soldiers and officers here say, because the rigidity of the military chain of command can make accusations uncomfortable and even risky for victims living in close quarters with the men they accuse.As a precaution, women are advised to travel in pairs, particularly in smaller bases populated with Iraqi troops and civilians.
Staff Sgt. Patricia F. Bradford, 27, a psychological operations soldier, said slights, subtle and not, was common, and some were easier to brush off than others. Women are still viewed derisively at times in the confined, occasionally tense space of a combat outpost. “You’re a bitch, a slut or a dyke — or you’re married, but even if you’re married, you’re still probably one of the three,” Sergeant Bradford said. At the same time, she and other female soldiers cope with the slights, showing a disarming brashness.“I think being a staff sergeant — and a bitch — helps deflect those things,” she added. The issues that arise in having women in combat — harassment, bias, hardship, even sexual relations — are a matter of discipline, maturity and professionalism rather than an argument for separating the sexes, according to Gen; David Petraus.
It is no secret women still have a long way to go before the term equal rights is applied clear across the board, but its nice to hear of our ambassadors showing the Middle East that women can solider just like men.
I’m a female Vet.
I’m an old school Vet. I was in back in the day before the phrases “sexual harassment” and “sensitivity training” were born. Things were rough back then.
I just took it for granted that they paid combat pay. I didn’t know that they didn’t.
How do they get around it.