There are valid arguments against women in ground combat units -- infantry, armor, and artillery. First, it is strenuous like you wouldn't believe. Women physically have less strength than men; they simply can't haul the heavy load and handle the weapons, ammo, etc as well as men. A unit with women has less "punch" than and all-male unit. Second, the presence of women has a deleterious effect on the 18-20 year-old physically fit fighting men in the unit. The lack of privacy (taking a dump in the open is not unusual), the dangers of emotional entanglement or rivalry, the different (not good/bad; different) reactions of males and females to stress, all these and similar factors degrade unit cohesion. And unit cohesion is your first and final force-multiplier when things get rough. There is also an overwhelming built-in urge of the male to protect the female in danger. This leads to battlefield decisions (mistakes) that help female survival but degrade mission accomplishment. None of this is saying women can't fight. They are aboard-- and command -- fighting ships; they fly combat aircraft; they are in "support" ground units like MP's where they are armed and ready. Some armies have used females in combat when their back was to the wall. Israel in 1948 fighting for its survival against the Arabs and the Soviet Union in 1942-43 trying to hold back the Nazis. But the Israelis found the impact described above to be the case and quickly pulled them back (they also found that the Arabs fought harder rather than run away from or surrender to a woman). By far the vast majority of women in the Soviet ground forces were in support units. those few in ground combat units were in specialized army skills like sniper or artillery observer. These few were highly publicized by the Soviets for propaganda, but, again, were pulled out when the Soviet Army recovered and went on the offensive. The Viet Cong had some women guerrillas, but again mostly in support roles. The North Vietnamese main force ground combat units were all-male.
I don't go along with the idea that women should be excluded from "hazardous" military jobs, just those grond combat units where strength is at a premium, privacy is at a minimum, and unit cohesion is a must. Women can proveably do just about any non-ground combat job in the military. Women get the same miltary pay for their rank; they command men; they are equal. If they choose, they have the same right to put themselves in danger for the protection of their country. Many do, today, and they are damned good at it. Just not a good idea for them to be where they hurt, rather than help, mission accomplishment.
