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[Gregory]

 

http://www.military.com/video/forces/army/army-combatives-female-vs-male/1174347642001/?ESRC=army-a.nl

[Johann]

What's the point?

[Gregory]

The points that can be made will likely be made by those who have firm views on the role of women in society in general and in combat to be  specific.

[Johann]

Some say the military would never have released this if the woman had lost. Others say he took consideration to the woman. Did he make her win on purpose?

[Gregory]

I doubt that he allowed her to win on purpose.

If you will notice, the male had the upper hand at times.  So, I do not see him giving her a lot of slack.l

Of course, in this type of training, to include when only males are involved, there are basic ground rules that they are required to follow.  No training of  this type can match exactly what will be experienced in compbat.  In combat, people fight to the death.  The one  who loses is dead.  In this type of training the expectation is that each will come out of it with no major injuries.

The purpose is to develop in each fighting skills, dexterity, strength and endurance.  It is not to determine whether men or women are better.

One of the lessons to the public is to say that in combat, both men and women are potentially in close contact which may be physical.

[Johann]

Media today reveals that a stripper in Spain did not realize the five young ladies he exposed himself to were all well trained Norwegian policewomen on vacation. They knew exactly how to take care of him when he tried to run away and they turned him over to the local police.

[Bob Pickle]

The points that can be made will likely be made by those who have firm views on the role of women in society in general and in combat to be  specific.

Gregory, being a chaplain where you are, do you have a feel for the prevalence of PTSD or similar disorders (percentage of combatants) as it relates to gender? Do men have a more difficult time down the road, or do women, or is it the same?

[Johann]

The points that can be made will likely be made by those who have firm views on the role of women in society in general and in combat to be  specific.

Gregory, being a chaplain where you are, do you have a feel for the prevalence of PTSD or similar disorders (percentage of combatants) as it relates to gender? Do men have a more difficult time down the road, or do women, or is it the same?

This is quite an interesting question

[Gregory]

I do not know the specific answer to your questions, which are good ones.  So, I will speak in generalities.

PTSD is huge.  The VA is spending large sums to evaulate, study and treat PTSD patients.  It affects both men and women.  However, the vast majority are males.  That is clearly because  the vast majority of veterans are male.  The majority of PTSD patients are of the Viet Nam eara  That is because  almost 100%  (Officially, I believe 100%?)  of our known WWI vets have died and WWII vets make up a decreasing number of our population.  Of our female vets who have PTSD a significant number of them have undergone sexual trauma. But, it is believed that sexual trauma by females in the military is significantly under-reported.

NOTE:  I ask that all who may discuss this do not reference me or cite me by name.  I am expressing a personal opinion that is not based upon any study/research on the subject.  I am expressing it in what I beleieve to be a private conversation that is not intended for publication or by other use by the media.  I am not authorized to speak for the Department of Veterans' Affairs.  Those who wish a more specific response to Bob's question should contact official sources for what will likely be more detailed and accurate answers.

[Gregory]

Bob:  Here is a VA response to some aspects of my response to you.  It is a bit old.  If you want, you can google "PTSD and female veterans."

"Traumatic Stress in Women Veterans

  Women's changing role in our military
A growing number of women are serving in the US military. In 2008, 11% of Veterans from the Afghanistan and Iraq military operations were women. These numbers are expected to keep rising. In fact, women are the fastest growing group of Veterans.

What stressors do women face in the military?
Here are some stressful things that women might have gone through while deployed:

Combat Missions: Women are not always trained for combat. Yet they often take part in stressful and dangerous combat or combat-support missions. More women are receiving hostile fire, returning fire, and seeing themselves or others getting hurt. An "urban warfare" setting like the one in Iraq can be even more stressful. After coming home, many male and female Veterans continue to be bothered by the combat they went through.

Military Sexual Trauma (MST): A number of women (and men) who have served in the military experience MST. MST is any kind of unwanted sexual attention. MST includes insulting sexual comments, unwanted sexual advances, or even sexual assault. Being a victim of MST can leave women feeling alone, depressed and anxious. To learn more about MST, go to our section on War.

Feeling Alone: In tough military missions, feeling that you are part of a group is important. In some theaters, though, personnel are deployed to new groups where they do not know the other service members. It can take time to build friendships and trusting relationships. Not feeling supported can be very hard.

Worrying About Family: It can be very hard for women with young children or elderly parents to be deployed for long periods of time. Service members are often given little notice. They may have to be away from home for a year or longer. Some women feel like they are "putting their lives on hold." They worry that they can't be watching over their loved ones. If there are troubles at home, both women and men in the field might start to feel overloaded. After returning home, some women find it is hard to return to the "mommy role." They may find that they have more conflicts with their children.

Because of these stressors, many women who return from deployment have trouble moving back into civilian life. While in time most will adjust, a small number will go on to have more serious problems like PTSD.

How many women Veterans have PTSD?
Among women Veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, almost 20% have been diagnosed with PTSD. We also know the rates of PTSD in women Vietnam Veterans. An important study found that about 27% of women Vietnam Veterans suffered from PTSD sometime during their postwar lives. To compare, in men who served in Vietnam, the lifetime rate of PTSD was 31%.

What helps?
Research shows that high levels of social support after the war were important for those women Veterans. Women who reported that they had close friends and family were less likely to have symptoms of PTSD. Having someone to talk to and someone who really cared helped women to adjust better to postwar life. It was also important for the returning women Veterans to feel that they could rely on others to assist them with tasks in times of need. Veterans who had this form of support suffered less from PTSD.

In response to the recent increase in women Veterans, the VA has put in place a number of health care and research programs just for women. This includes the Women Veterans Health Program and the Center for Women Veterans. Every VA in this country now has a Women Veterans Program Manager.

Sources
This is based on a more detailed version, located in the "For Providers and Researchers" section of our website: Traumatic Stress in Female Veterans.

Date Created: 01/01/2007 See last Reviewed/Updated Date below.

 
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[Gregory]

The following may be helpful:

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/index.asp

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/fslist-other_common_problems.asp

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/fslist-other_common_problems.asp  For issues specific to women.

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/fslist-other_common_problems.asp  A specific program for recovery for women.

http://www.womenvetsptsd.va.gov/Womens_Outpatient_Program.asp  An outpatient program for female recovery.

NOTE:  I am not listing other general programs which cover men as they are well publicized and information is available.  The bottom line is that PTSD is a major focus of the VA.

[Johann]

"We also know the rates of PTSD in women Vietnam Veterans. An important study found that about 27% of women Vietnam Veterans suffered from PTSD sometime during their postwar lives. To compare, in men who served in Vietnam, the lifetime rate of PTSD was 31%."

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/traumatic-stress-female-vets.asp

[Gregory]

Now, the question is:  What it the rate of PTSD in the current  combat zones?  Some of us beleive that it is more stressful than was VN and therefore should be higher.  I do not know the current rate.
 

[Gregory]

On a slightly different subject:

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/30/preparing-clergy-for-war-army-chaplains-train-by-the-hundred-for-the-combat-zone/

[Bob Pickle]

"We also know the rates of PTSD in women Vietnam Veterans. An important study found that about 27% of women Vietnam Veterans suffered from PTSD sometime during their postwar lives. To compare, in men who served in Vietnam, the lifetime rate of PTSD was 31%."

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/traumatic-stress-female-vets.asp

I think that should raise some red flags, if the female Vietnam vets referred to did not engage in combat. If that is the case, then it would not surprise me if female combatants will end up with a lot higher incidence of PTSD than men.

It is generally unnatural for a species to kill its own. Piranhas fight each other with their tails, not their teeth. Military training has to program soldiers to overcome their natural inhibition against killing another human being.

That's the case with men. How much more with women, whom God designed to be nurturing mothers and caretakers, not amazonian warmongers?