Letter: Women in infantry is not a good idea

The recent decision to open up all military occupational specialties to women, most importantly directing women be assigned to infantry units, is going to haunt us.

Tests and evaluations conducted by the Marine Corps have repeatedly shown degraded effectiveness of "co-ed" units. The women are not as fast, tend to sustain more broken legs and twisted ankles, and cannot keep up with their male counterparts.

Yet the powers that be have ruled in spite of many objections. Combat is a vicious and deadly affair. Only those who have experienced it can attest to the horror and carnage.

With all due respect to my colleagues in the Navy and Air Force, only the Army and the Marine Corps have such real-life experience since World War II. Just being in a combat zone does not qualify as being engaged in combat. Combat is when you seek out, close with and destroy the enemy.

There is no need to expose our sisters, daughters, mothers and girlfriends to these horrors. This decision is a bow to those with a social agenda. They are the ones who have never been in combat or never heard a shot fired in anger.

I pray that leaders will come to their senses.

Paul Westphal

This story was originally published January 17, 2016 at 9:02 PM with the headline "Letter: Women in infantry is not a good idea."