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Local Veterans say Pentagon's Women in Combat Decision Outdated
Posted: Jan 29, 2013 6:19 PM by Heather Jackson - hjackson@kristv.com
Updated: Jan 30, 2013 10:19 AM
CORPUS CHRISTI - The Pentagon made it official last week, women can now serve in combat, on the front lines.
"You are used to bombs going off, you are used to sleeping with a weapon, you're used to waking up in the middle of the night with your rifle right there next to you," veteran Tiffany Hunt reflects.
When Tiffany Hunt hung up her boots after ten years of serving in the army during war time, just the slightest sound of something so natural, like thunder, sent her running under a table.
"A mortar goes off- it sounds like thunder. You put on your cavalier, your gear, and you duck," said Hunt.
Many women were trained for battle just like men. "Military police are out there knocking on doors and doing what they need to do," she recalls.
Women serving in the military say they consider that the front lines.
Amalia Garza agrees. She is currently serving in the Aarmy Reserve and says she too has been to what she considers the front lines. "Search for IED's, investigate this or that, go to the terrain and help the people out,"
So when the Pentagon recently announced women could join men in combat that just made it official.
There is one exception to the ruling. The Pentagon still has to rule on whether or not women can join special operations groups, like the Navy Seals.
Which brings up a whole other aspect, the physical strength test required for special ops is something many men can't even pass.
"That's the concern. Will they compromise proven training standards in order to accommodate women," says retired Navy captain Rocco Montesano.
Garza agrees with Montesano. The training for Navy Seals is a higher level of physical strength. She says women will be prepared once they go through proper training.
"We were all females and we all served and we all went through the training. they will not let you certify you unless you pass the training," Amalia Garza says.
The Pentagon has until 2016 to decide if women will even be allowed to apply to special operations.
Amalia says that if they are considering it women should be encouraged. "If they are letting the door open more power to the females that want to do it."
The Pentagon has until May to figure out how to carry-out the plan. Women make up 14-percent of the active duty military.
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