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Women in combat: Your take
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My History With Women in Uniform
I am a retired 24-year U.S. Air Force veteran who served in several organizations and functions with women. During the SALT talks of the 1980's, our misison in Europe was to effectively deploy and protect the GLCM system. Several deployment teams had women assigned for jobs from security to mobile decontamination and resupply. My experiences with these military professionals was consistently spot on as they (women) performed assigned tasks without hesitation.
Later in my career in support of Operation Desert Storm and Provide Comfort, I again worked with women in various capacities. On several occasions we were tasked to perform duties which places us in harm's way and again these women stood toe to toe with male counterparts. As many in our career field transitioned to support roles during Operation Provide Comfort, that professionalism continued by the women I was fortunate to work with.
I believe "announcing" women will be working in combat roles is not news...they have been stepping up to the challenges, performing their duties in combat situations and demonstrating a professional military image for a long time.
Later in my career in support of Operation Desert Storm and Provide Comfort, I again worked with women in various capacities. On several occasions we were tasked to perform duties which places us in harm's way and again these women stood toe to toe with male counterparts. As many in our career field transitioned to support roles during Operation Provide Comfort, that professionalism continued by the women I was fortunate to work with.
I believe "announcing" women will be working in combat roles is not news...they have been stepping up to the challenges, performing their duties in combat situations and demonstrating a professional military image for a long time.
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