Women in Combat means kids come last?

This article really disturbed me, and I mean really.

I'm not a feminist, but I do believe there are certain things that women should do that men also do. I will name one in this post. Women should be able to join the military...Period.

Some believe that war is no place for a woman, that women just don't belong on the battle field.

A couple of soldiers I have spoken with about this have clued me in and being from different sides of the country, their veiws were damn near identical.

The units feel an obligation, an unspoken bond to go the extra mile to protect the women. This can become a distraction to a point, for lack of a better word. But at the same time, the soldiers I spoke with said they would have no other by their side if given the choice. That the women are just as devoted to the job as the men. These are views of just a couple of guys I talked with but it makes a hell of a lot of sense to me.

Men are protectors by nature, women are needy. Well, I guess I could get attacked by some crazed feminist for saying that but I won't deny that I feel safer with a man around. And a man around me always tends to take on the part of my body guard. That to me is just old school knowledge and comfort.

So, back to this article. Women in combat means kids come last

Being an advocate for both kids and women in the military, this article jumped out at me like the boogeyman.

First off, my belief that women shouldn't be shunned as soldiers goes like this. I am very patriotic, I love my country, I would defend my country if I were 10-15 years younger, I just didn't know it then.

Many women are very patriotic. So are men. In fact, it would anger me quite a bit to see that women were turned away based solely on their gender. But they are not.

"IN a world of uncertainty and mayhem, the single constant about which we thought we could be reasonably confident has been that mothers would nurture their children.

We have been disabused of that quaint notion in myriad ways, but nowhere so vividly as in today's military. As a spate of recent news stories reveals, the Pentagon has become complicit in helping thousands of mothers abandon and potentially make orphans of their children."

Just read these two paragraphs and absorb for a moment. No where in there do you read about the THOUSANDS of fathers being deployed. Are their losses not felt by their children? Single fathers? Are there any of those fighting this war?

"In a sane world, mothers do not abandon their children and governments understand that the most important line of defense in the struggle for civilization is the family. Thus, it is urgent that we ask why our government is participating in child abandonment and putting mothers at unnecessary risk."

This world here that we live in, us who are not deployed is sane? I must really be missing something. People abandon their babies, they drown their kids, they ignore their kids, they beat their kids and I could go on.

There is no story of a soldier, man or woman, that is more or less heartbreaking. War is something that happens. No one likes it, no one wants it, but there are times when it is necessary to unclog the drain so to speak.

Any death of a soldier is devastating. Man or woman, there lies here in America, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, moms, dads, grandparents, children, and us strangers who will be affected.

There are those soldiers who warrant an added acknowledment, such as the soldier who jumped on a grenade to save his buddies. US Army PFC Ross McGinnis, valiant, brave, and unselfish. But he too left behind many who will mourn him, who will love him and remember him. But lets not forget too that it is more likely they could die right out on the street in front of their house, in a car accident, an aneurysm.

Perhaps the writer's focus is more on single mothers but I have plenty to say about that. First and foremost, these moms voluntarily enlisted in the military. In my mind, military automatically means if I sign that dotted line, I could very well have to go to war. I am signing to learn how to fight.

Secondly, if in fact a man is not present in the home, these women are performing the job of both mom and dad. They are showing bravery, unselfishness, and a desire to make this country better for their kids. They are showing devotion, love, and a willingness to go that extra mile for the sake of something they believe in. Where is the wrong in teaching their kids that life is not always easy but no matter how difficult it may be, you have to give it your all and fight for what you believe in?

And where are the articles about the dads who are being forced to go to war? Where are the articles about the fact that some fathers are single dads and they are being shipped out only to leave their kids orphans?

It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman in this war. The sad fact is is that we are in a war, families and friends are going to suffer. Kids are going to suffer. To make this weak argument about single moms having to go to Iraq is just plain idiotic and one sided.

Those kids will grow up one day, hear the story about their mom and be proud of her. They will probably always hate George Bush because he will ultimately be the bad guy but the point this lady is missing is the Patriotic Value in the fighting single mom! Kudos to those brave moms and lets not forget, the brave dads too.