(hoy es 25 jul 2011) (el articulo lo vi hace aos)

http://www.macleans.ca/homepage/magazine/article.jsp content!200"11#$21#2%$21#2%&page!1

Interview with Kingsley Browne

'(ou hear a)out slac* +iscipline in mi,e+ se, units )ecause mem)ers are +evoting too much attention to the opposite se,'. -uthor o. '/o0e+ /om)at' tal*s to 1ate 2illion a)out why all women in the 3.4. military shoul+ )e out o. 5ra6 1-78 25995:; < ;ovem)er #= 200" < -: 7here clearly is at least an incipient movement= you see it in much o. the press= where there have )een a lot o. stories a)out how women in 5ra6 are )asically +oing the same things as men an+ how the services there= particularly the army= are cha.ing un+er the restrictions o. the prohi)ition on >.emale participation in? groun+ com)at. 4urvey num)ers show that a)out 10 per cent o. military women say they themselves woul+ )e willing to volunteer .or com)at= )ut larger num)ers say that women who want to shoul+ have the option. @: Ahat woul+ )e wrong with letting that 10 per cent volunteer -: 7he argument that's ma+e .re6uently is that com)at is no longer a test o. )rawn )ut o. )rains= so while it's true that men are stronger than women= it +oesn't matter. But strength still mattersC 5n the in.antry= the typical sol+ier is carrying at a minimum %0 l).= an+ a lot are carrying "5 to 100 l). 7hat's a very heavy loa+= an+ it's not just that you have to carry it across the street= you have to carry it .or miles= then have su..icient energy reserves to +ig into what might )e very har+ groun+= an+ then +o what you went there .or: engage in a .ight with the enemy. 4trength matters even on warships. (ou might have a jo) D coo*= say= or ra+ioman D that +oesn't re6uire much strength when things are operating normally= )ut i. the ship gets hit )y a missile= su++enly every)o+y's jo) is +amage control. Ahen a 3.4. ship hit an 5ranian mine in the Eersian Ful. in 1G## an+ almost san*= the captain or+ere+ the magazine emptie+ o. ammunition so it +i+n't )low up the ship= an+ the shells were 50 l). apiece. 7wenty per cent o. the ship's crew was in a )uc*et )riga+e= passing these shells +own the line. Ahen )a+ things happen you o.ten +o nee+ strength. 9et's say you're a pilot whose airplane is attac*e+ )y hostile .ire. :ne 2200l). pilot who was in that position sai+ it too* every ounce o. strength he ha+ to *eep the airplane stea+y. -n+ he was a )ig= )ee.y guy. /ontinue+ Below @: 5s there any other reason women shoul+n't )e .lying com)at aircra.t

-: Aell= the possi)ility o. )eing a E:A= which raises special pro)lems. :nce capture+= .emale prisoners .ace a su)stantial ris* o. rape= an+ that's something that= .or the most part= men +on't .ace. @: 5. a woman is willing to ta*e that ris*= shoul+n't she )e allowe+ to -: 7he thing is= it +oesn't just a..ect her. 7he captors may very well also have male prisoners= an+ can use the a)use or threats o. a)use o. .emale prisoners as a means o. e,tracting in.ormation or other *in+s o. co0operation .rom male prisoners. Ae *now .rom the air .orce training that even in simulations= men are much more +istresse+ )y a)use o. their .emale comra+es than their male comra+es. (ou +on't want to give the enemy an e,tra tool. -nother issue is the e..ect on national morale when .emales are ta*en prisoner. 7he Hessica 9ynch e,ample showe+ pretty clearly that it's perceive+ as a greater )low to the nation when .emales are capture+ D an+ we see now how pu)lic perceptions o. how we're +oing an+ the costs we're paying a..ect the resolve to continue a con.lict. @: (ou say we're not getting the .ull picture o. women's military per.ormance in 5ra6. Ahat in.ormation is )eing withhel+ -: 7he mainstream press in general seems .avoura)ly +ispose+ towar+ the service o. women= so we get stories only o. their goo+ per.ormance= we +on't hear a)out their )a+ per.ormance. But you +o hear anec+otal reports= not so much a)out women's per.ormance un+er .ire as much as a)out slac* +iscipline in the mi,e+ se, support units= )ecause the mem)ers are o.ten +evoting too much o. their attention to the opposite se,. 7here's too much mon*ey )usiness. @: 5 was surprise+ that a central comman+ o..icer tol+ you no one is collecting in.ormation a)out the num)er o. sol+iers who get pregnant in 5ra6. -: 5 cannot )elieve the 3.4. military is so unconcerne+ with the causes o. personnel loss that they aren't *eeping trac*= )ut releasing it is another matter. 7hey +on't see any a+vantage in saying that even a small num)er o. women are leaving )ecause o. pregnancy. - statistic that you see .re6uently is that at any one time= a)out 10 per cent o. the women serving in the military D not just in 5ra6= )ut in every part o. the military D are pregnant. 4o .ar= 155=000 women have serve+ in 5ra6 an+ -.ghanistan altogether= so 5'+ guess that hun+re+s= an+ li*ely more= have )ecome pregnant an+ returne+ home= or weren't a)le to +eploy in the .irst place )ecause they were pregnant.

@: -si+e .rom the ris* o. pregnancy= what are some o. the other issues in mi,e+ se, units @: - lot o. the arguments you're ma*ing are the same ones that have )een ma+e a)out gays in the military: the negative e..ects on unit cohesion= the intro+uction o. se,ual tension= the perception o. wea*ness. -: 5t's a somewhat +i..erent issue= )ut not entirely. -n+ in the 3.4. -rmy >unli*e the /ana+ian military?= the rule is that homose,uals cannot serve. - lot o. people +on't

un+erstan+ that I+on't as*= +on't tellI is a Jepartment o. Je.ense en.orcement regulation o. a .e+eral statute= which says essentially that those who engage in or +esire to engage in homose,ual activities are not eligi)le to serve in the arme+ .orces. @: Jo you thin* there are any other .iel+s where .ull integration o. women is a )a+ i+ea= or are you solely oppose+ to it in the military -: 5've stu+ie+ occupational segregation in the civilian worl+= an+ 5 thin* psychological an+ physical +i..erences are a su)stantial cause o. what we see in terms o. the glass ceiling an+ gen+er gap. 8ven in the a)sence o. +iscrimination= you woul+ still see su)stantial +i..erences in the way men an+ women sort themselves out in the wor*place. But the thing a)out the military is= one= the challenges are so intense in com)at= an+ two= the conse6uences o. +oing poorly= an+ the national security conse6uences also= are so potentially serious. -nother thing is that while there are in+ivi+ual re6uirements such as strength= which is relatively easily measure+= a lot o. the psychological attri)utes that go into )eing an e..ective com)at sol+ier are not so easy to measure. :ne recurrent theme o. com)at )ehaviour literature is that it's always a surprise who en+s up +oing well. /ontinue+ Below @: By the same to*en= coul+ you not argue that women coul+ surprise you -: 5 have no +ou)t that there are a .ew women who possess the re6uisite strength an+ personality pro.ile to )e in+ivi+ually e..ective sol+iers. @: Ahat's the personality pro.ile= e,actly -: 2airly high ris* pre.erence= less .ear.ul o. things than other people= more physically aggressive an+ +ominant than people in general= higher pain tolerance= less empathic than people in general D you've got to )e a)le to +etach yoursel. .rom the .act that the person whose hea+ you're a)out to )low o.. is another human )eing with a .amily= an+ having *ille+= you nee+ to )e a)le to +eal with it without e,cessive guilt. 5 +on't thin* there are very many women with that pro.ile= )ut it's not just a)out in+ivi+ual traits= it's a)out how groups interact. 5t's a truism that in+ivi+uals +on't .ight wars= groups +o. (ou .ight as a unit. /an a mi,e+ se, group )e as cohesive Ahat is the e..ect o. the *in+ o. se,ual competition that always goes on in groups o. people in their prime mating years -nother issue relate+ to cohesion is trust: com)at sol+iers have to )e a)le to trust that their comra+es have their )ac*= they have to have con.i+ence in their lea+ers an+ a willingness to .ollow them. 7he traits men i+enti.y in e..ective .ighters ten+ to )e very stereotypically masculine: courage= physical strength= lea+ership. 5n +angerous situations= women +on't trigger that *in+ o. trust in men. @: Ahat i. she's hol+ing a power.ul weapon an+ is higher0ran*e+ -: 7hese pre.erences e,ist to a large e,tent in+epen+ent o. what create+ them in our psyche. 5n ancient times= when everyone agrees that war.are was a matter o. )rawn= women woul+ not have )een e..ective .ighters. 5n our evolutionary past= the selection o. comra+es .or .ighting an+ other +angerous activities woul+ have ha+ su)stantial .itness conse6uences= in the sense that i. you truste+ the wrong person= you +ie+. 4o that woul+

have create+ a su)stantial pressure .or men to respon+= on an intuitive rather than cognitive level= to a man who possesse+ the traits associate+ with )eing an e..ective .ighter an+ hunter. @: 4o this lac* o. trust men have can't )e overturne+ )y new evi+ence -: 7he +ecision to trust is what psychologists call .ast an+ shallowK we +on't write +own pros an+ cons= it's a gut0level ju+gment an+ it's very +i..icult to change on the )asis o. cognitive input. 5t's li*e trying to tell some)o+y who's a.rai+ o. sna*es that you +on't have to )e a.rai+= they're not poisonous. 7he person says= I:*ay= .ine= )ut get them away .rom me.I @: 5n 5ra6= an+ increasingly in -.ghanistan= there's no such thing as a 100 per cent com)at0.ree zone. 4o is your position that no women at all shoul+ )e sent to either country= even in support positions -: 5 thin* that to the e,tent that all o. 5ra6 is a war zone an+ all o. the personnel serving there are su)ject to com)at ris*s= then my argument woul+ )e yes= women shoul+ )e e,clu+e+. @: 5n which case they'll never rise to the top ran*s o. the military. -: 5. you loo* at promotion statistics >in the 3.4.?= women are o.ten promote+ at a +isproportionately high rate. @: :nly in the past 20 or L0 years. -: 2orty years ago= the 3.4. military was cappe+ at two per cent .emale= so yes. :nly in 1G"% were the service aca+emies opene+ to women. But over the last 20 years= even with the com)at e,clusion= women ten+e+ to +o reasona)ly well= overall= in terms o. promotion. But clearly= a woman's pro)a)ility o. rising to the very top echelons o. the military is very slight as long as women are e,clu+e+ .rom com)at. @: 5n the 3.4.= the military has tra+itionally provi+e+ a socio0economic la++er out o. poverty. 5. women were )arre+ even .rom support positions in 5ra6= that la++er woul+n't )e as availa)le .or women as men. -: -ctually= the military might accept more women into training than it currently +oes. 7he percentage o. .emale enlistees has gone +own since 2000= an+ one interpretation is that women +on't want to )e e,pose+ to com)at ris*s= as they are in 5ra6. 5. you're joining the military loo*ing .or a jo) or training= rather than loo*ing to .ight= the prospect o. getting )lown up is a +isincentive.