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WHEREAS, during the Equal Rights Amendment fight, our opposition
effectively fanned the flames of fear that women would be drafted and thrown
into foxholes in some strange and distant country; and
WHEREAS, with women soldiers playing a more significant role
in the Persian Gulf than ever before in our military history, we may have
an unprecedented opportunity to bring to an end the long debate over whether
women should be in combat, to expand career opportunities for women in
the military and to remove what has been an overwhelming obstacle to women's
equality and the Equal Rights Amendment; and
WHEREAS, exclusion of women from positions arbitrarily defined
as "combat" is based on archaic ideas of what women and men are physically
and emotionally capable of doing and outdated ideas of what modern military
theory and combat are; and
WHEREAS, the definition of "combat" is ambiguous and varies
from branch to branch; armed conflicts since World War II rarely involve
readily definable front-lines, rear echelon units may be a 30 second missile
flight from the so-called front-line, and in modern military theory rear
support troops are destroyed first before assaulting those up front; and
WHEREAS, the combat exclusion does not protect women; 80-90%
of the casualties in conflicts since World War II have been civilians and
the majority have been women and children; women and children are subjected
to violence every day on the streets and in our homes; rather than creating
restrictions on women under the guise and illusion of protection, we would
all be better protected by seeking diplomatic, economic and other non-violent
ways to resolve international differences other than armed conflict; and
WHEREAS, the exclusion of women from combat in the modern military
is a fraud only to perpetuate a second class status of women in the military;
economically and educationally disadvantaged young women cannot use the
armed services, which are the largest vocational training grounds in the
U.S., in the same way young men can to help themselves; young men can join,
get training, a possibility of pension and often veterans preferences in
hiring when they leave the military; young women face higher entrance requirements
and quotas limiting the numbers of women who get into the military -- and
once they get in, women receive less training and fewer promotions; women
are almost 11% of the military, but fill only .9% of the military's top
1000 officers' jobs and only about .8% of the top 15,000 senior enlisted
positions; and
WHEREAS, the combat exclusion hurts our country's defense and
foreign policy; women are effectively eliminated from most high ranking
leadership positions in the military by being excluded from career enhancing,
command positions defined as "combat"; and with women's perspective missing
from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other military policy bodies, our country's
public policy is poorer; and
WHEREAS, all of us are better protected when those serving in
the military are selected based on their individual strength and ability
to do the job and not on an automatic presumption that all men and no women
are qualified for the 50% of the military jobs defined as "combat";
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that NOW demands equality for women
in joining the military and in training, job assignments and benefits in
the military; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NOW actively supports elimination
of statutory restrictions on women in the military.
This policy was adopted by the NOW National
Board in September 1990.