The, The Brass Ceiling, By Secretary Mr. Mabo Essay

Rushing to Failure to Lift the Imaginary â€Å"Brass Ceiling† Secretary Mr. Panetta’s decision to repeal the DOD policy preventing women from serving in direct ground combat units opened Pandora’s Box on the debate of whether or not women should be allowed to serve in specialties previously opened to males only. The narrative regarding the women serving in direct ground combat arms specialties was immediately high jacked by those sympathetic to women who have served in combat on a â€Å"nonlinear† battlefield, where there were no distinguishable front and rear lines. Additionally, many have rallied behind those women who have been able to demonstrate superior physical abilities, such as the two women soldiers that recently completed Ranger School. I would submit that neither accomplishment demonstrates that these women or women in general are the â€Å"best-qualified and most capable† to serve in direct ground combat arms specialties. This issue is not about what women should be allowed to do, it’s really about what are they capable of doing. The bias is not institutional, the bias is physiological. What these accomplishments suggest is that women should not be excluded from combat and that some women can achieve extraordinary physical feats in isolation. Women serving in combat did not serve in offensive engagements where their mission was to locate, close with and destroy the enemy. In the case of the Ranger School graduates, those women unquestionably demonstrated the strength,