European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 8, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Question whether it is fair that the military has a greater proportion of Blacks than society does. They say that Blacks might Sutler greater casualties than Whites in combat which would be morally and politically intolerable defenders of the Volunteer Force argue that in peacetime casualties from Small operations like those in Grenada and Libya Are so few As to be statistically meaningless. On the of her hand. Tiey say the United Stales would to required to return to the draft if the nation became engaged in a War the sue of those in Korea or Vietnam in a Only administered draft. They say Young men would be drawn proportionally Tram All Cipnic groups. The first women to serve in Crews controlling minuteman ii nuclear missiles descended to iwo command capsules 65 feet underground at while Man fab mo., on March 25 although women Hava served with men in Titan missile Crews in teams of four the titans Are being eliminated and the an Force has decided to have All male or All female. Bul not mixed Crews of two Lor the minute Man. The air Force thus look another Stop to Domino a place for women the armed forces have edged closer to placing women where they could be in combat in a nuclear War women in minuteman capsules would be prime targets and might be among the first ordered to fire in conventional forces air Force Wornon recent / began serving in the military police who Are armed like the of angry army women drive trucks that could go close to combat zones and Navy women Are aboard support ships that could be targets in a conflict. In Israel women Are sublet to the draft bul Are restricted to non combat positions in the Soviel Union women in the armed forces Are mostly nurses a Tew Are administrators. American Law and military regulations forbid sending women into combat meaning that women May not carry Rilles on offensive operations serve aboard warships or Fly warplanes 8ut As warfare has become More technical skills have become More important than strength. And new questions have Arisen if women can serve in missile control centers Why not in submarines with ballistic missiles the reasons for not permitting that so far have been doubts by some military and civilian leaders male and female that women have the physical or psychological stamina to Cope with the stress of Battle today 10 percent of the 2.1 million people in the armed forces Are women. Bui there Are differences among the services. Women comprise 11.9 percent of the air Force. Which has a Large support Structure. Al bul Wool 230 enlisted Job classifications Are open to women. In the army which also his a Large support Force 103 percent of the soldiers Are women. Of 35 i military occupational specialities 302 Are open to women. In the Navy 93 percent of the sailors Are women. The Marine corps Lor which the Navy provides most of the support Force has 4.9 percent. For the last decade men and women in the service have smuggled with workaday issues 0 attitudes discipline and social relations. The altitudes of senior men seem to tall into three categories some believe women have no place in the armed forces their attitude said a Young woman who is an officer is thai we should be Home cooking and having others see female subordinates As their Long lost daughters said another Young woman. A Marine colonel asked if he would treat mate end female lieutenants the same if each made a mistake said no i would Brace that Young Man but i d counsel the woman Blacks and women in military service percent of Blacks and women in the armed forces each year. 1972 was the last full year of military conscription. Figures for Blacks include both men and women. 20% .72 through Phr Many officers say women miss fewer Day on duty than men. Still others have come to accept women a third Young woman said More and More colonels look a me As i to say you Are a lieutenant in the in led states air Force and i expect you to do your Job " bul even officers who accept women Are Somel Jmes Dill ident about correcting hem How am i going to Tell a Young woman that she needs a haircut or that she had too much to drink in the club last night a naval officer asked. Many men who Are officers say women miss fewer Days on duly oven with menstruation or pregnancy Are less Ollen absent without leave and gel into less trouble with drinking or drugs. Socially the services forbid commissioned officers to Date enlisted people. Dating is tolerated so Long As it is not Between supervisor and subordinate. Whatever the strictures a steady increase in marriages Between service members has complicated the transfers common to military file. The services try to move such couples to bases within 50 Miles of one another bul Are not always successful. In that said a personnel officer the needs of he service come around Hampton roads vs., is the world s largest naval Complex with nearly 100,000 military people plus their families. Into thai military Community 400 babies Are born each month to couples in which the average age of the taller is 21 years and the Mother 19. That fact underscores the change in military life from the largely unmarried Force of earlier Days to today s married Force. In the Era of the Vietnam Drall few enlisted people were married. Now about one third Are just Why so Many Young men and women in the military Are married is not Clear although in is connected to better pay. Some Young men enlist because hey need a Job to support a wife others find that once in the service they can afford to marry. In any event numerous Young married people comp Linale the lives of commanders at every level they must help Young people Many away from Home Lor the fist time Cope wih the demands of military life strange surroundings the strains of marriage and new financial responsibilities. Longer Range the ability of the military o retain experienced non commissioned officers Ollen turns on How Well families Are looted Afier. The Navy enlists sailors says a naval officer bul Ware ends mites " the married Force is also Mora costly although he defense department does not know How much More because of the Many variables. The Pentagon says the annual eos of pay and allowances to sustain a married army sergeant come to $20,300, in contrast to $15.200 for an unmarried sergeant. A critical Issue to All commanders is what is called unit cohesion. An old army saying holds soldiers Don t fight for their country they figh for their friends " before Young soldiers and sailors spent their waking hours training or working lived together in Barracks or Aboa a ship ale Logeff Ter in the mess Hall and used their meager pay for 25-cent movies on Post or for carousing together in town on saturday nights. Today when the married Soldier or Sailor is not away in the Field or at sea he lives at Home lakes most of his meals there uses his pay to support a family and according to Many a cos causes fewer disciplinary problems. That makes some commanders worry that the troops will not form close Bonds. But others say that combat units spend so much time training in the Field or at sea thai an erosion of unit cohesion is not a problem. The first sergeant in a Marine company shrugs it off. Times change and you be got to change with tomorrow Black americans women and Young married people talk about their lives in the military services ,1986 the stars and stripes Page 15
