Chapter 12: Women as Leaders in the Military

Judith Hicks Stiehm

Women as leaders in the military The military has a unique function. It kills. It does so on behalf of the nation and at the direction of its elected leaders. In addition, many military members take great risks and some sacrifice their lives. On the other hand, although trained for combat, some never engage in it, and others have specialties such as accounting that do not require them to kill and that almost guarantee their safety. Nevertheless, all who wear a military uniform are conscious of what separates them from civilians. That is a mission that can involve the taking of an enemy's life and the sacrifice of one's own. In U.S. culture many men, and women too, are uncomfortable with women's fulfilling that responsibility. In spite of the difficulty of recruiting enough volunteers for the All-Volunteer Force (AVF) and in spite of a general ethic of equality, U.S. women ...

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