LiveWire

Traditional chivalry, gender bias and sexual tension have historically been used when all else fails to oppose women serving in the military. At the outbreak of the Spanish American War in 1898 Army leaders declared the battlefield was no place for women despite the prevailing view at the time that nursing was women’s work and yes they were better at it. However, as thousands of soldiers began dying in part from a lack of proper nursing the Army relented and hired female contract nurses and their performance led to the establishment of the Army Nurse Corps in 1901. In every war since the same pattern has prevailed a wartime needs exists that women can perform, gender bias is set aside if only during the war, women demonstrate their worth to the Army and a few more opportunities to serve are opened. Fast forward to today. Women soldiers have already served alongside special ops units in Afghanistan they were not assigned but attached to the unit. The danger is the same. 1st Lt Ashley White Stumpf was killed in Oct 2011 by an improvised explosive device along with two Army Rangers in Afghanistan.