On Women in Combat

During my time in the military, 1980 to 1989, women weren't allowed to serve in combat.  They couldn't be assigned to combatant ships, and they couldn't fly a plane that was designed to engage in conflict.  On the ground, women didn't participate in offensive infantry battles or even train for them.




Looking back at my time in the Marine Corps, I recall a couple of situations that provide some insights.

While attending TBS, a six-month officer training course, I participated in both offensive and defensive infantry instruction.  And on every occasion that we had offensive field training, one other woman and I would always be assigned to join a large group of male lieutenants, along with a crusty old Marine as our instructor.  Despite policy, he'd make us train right alongside the men.  

And I hated it.  It was hard and tiring, the gear was heavy, and I'm not that strong.  I remember one particularly difficult exercise, mechanized assaults.  I was struggling, and one of my fellow Marines asked if I was okay.  And although everyone was hurting, he asked and was concerned about me because I was a woman.

At my last duty station, Parris Island, South Carolina, I was a series commander and a company commander at Fourth Recruit Training Battalion, which is the only unit in the Marine Corps that specifically trains women recruits.  Overall, the women recruits I saw were capable and performed well, but I couldn't see them in combat.  I'm being honest here - women just aren't as physically strong as men, and I saw that.

Fast forward to today.  The restrictions on women's military service are gone.  Women fly all types of aircraft and serve on combatant ships and on submarines.  Some women have even completed infantry training right alongside the men.  And everyone seems to be applauding this breakthrough.  I don't want to take away from these accomplishments. 

Maybe things have changed; maybe women are stronger.  I know there's always a few women who are as capable as or more capable than many men.  I could be wrong, but I'd be surprised if the majority of women are that capable. 

But as I think about this "women in combat" thing, my question is, "Even if women are as capable and as strong as men, should they fight in combat?  Is this good for us, for our society?"

As a Christian, I look to God's Word.  I look to my God as our creator; He created us with order and a plan.  He created us in His image - male and female.  And God commanded:

Be fruitful and multiply.  Genesis 1:28b

It's very clear that women's bodies are beautifully equipped to bear and nurture children, to give life.  As a woman, as a mother, and looking at this situation over time, I see that God has a good plan and order for creation.  For women, His plan includes giving them the ability to bear life.

God also created them male and female, with marriage in mind and the female as a "helper fit for him."  Genesis 2:20b

And that marriage between a husband and wife is a reflection of the relationship between Jesus and His church, His bride.  As Paul writes:

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”  This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.  Ephesians 5:31–32

This is the drama of creation and of God's story.  And we're a part of it, and a living picture of salvation. 

Jesus, the promised savior, lived among man, was born a man, specifically born of a woman.  

Jesus, our bridegroom, fights the battle for us; He dies for us; and in dying and rising again, He defeats sin, death, and Satan.   

And in this picture of salvation, we see and experience the love of God.  And we see this in our marriages, with a husband and a wife, with children - in living as He created us to live.  Yes, it's a mystery, and in this mystery, we testify to the world of salvation through Jesus.   

I don't have a satisfying answer to "women in combat."  It's a complicated issue.

But I do have the answer to, "Who's my God?  Who's my Savior?  What's this life all about?"  Jesus.

...who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.  He descended into hell.  The third day he rose again from the dead.  He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty.  From thence he will come to judge the living and the dead.