From: tomas_e@LINK.Physchem.KTH.SE (Tomas Eriksson)
Subject: Re: Women in Combat
Reply-To: tomas_e@LINK.Physchem.KTH.SE
Organization: Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 17:48:49 GMT

In article <1992Nov11.205408.9168@news.columbia.edu>, dan@cubmol.bio.columbia.edu (Daniel Zabetakis) writes:
>
>    Recently there has been much talk of women and thier role in combat
>here in the US.
>    I am wondering how many examples there are in modern times of women
>fighting in regular or near-regular units. I know that there were female
>pilots used by the USSR in WWII.

Well, my country doesn't fight that much (Sweden hasn't been at war 
since 1809 - at least offically), but we do have female officers.

Since our defence relies heavily on conscripts, all permanent military 
employees are officers. (Many officers belive that there should be 
"underofficerare" - senior NCOs??? - well, sergeant-majors and similar, 
in employment as well; in reality older lieutenants never promoted to 
captain do a lot of traditional sergeant-major work)

Women were first allowed into the airforce in approx. 1980 (?), in 
non-combat non-flying roles. A few years later, the navy and the army 
followed. In the army, women were not accepted into the infantry, 
cavalry or armour forces, but to e.g. antiaircraft, signal troops and 
service troops.

Women first go through the general draft procedure, and are then 
accepted for going through voluntary military service at squad or 
section leader level, if they are considered physically and 
psychologically qualified to do so. Then they have to apply again to 
officer's training. (This is the same procedure as male cadets go 
through - future officers do their first year or so together with all 
the other conscripts.) In total, it takes little over 3 years to become 
a second lieutenant in Sweden.

It took a few years after the first full-time female officers were 
accepted until the first female *reserve* officers were accepted. Also 
here, the airforce was first. (Female airforce reserve officers make a 
lot of sense btw, since large parts of the optical air surveilance 
system, i.e. watch towers, is "manned" by volunteer women, and it is as 
platoon and company commanders in this system many airforce reserve 
officers work.)

But, a few years ago (1989 or 1990), the defence minister decided to 
take away all restrictions prohibiting women from certain officer's 
careers. Very shortly thereafter, the first woman passed the tests for 
being accepted into fighter pilot training. (He boyfriend was btw a 
fighter pilot, a decade or so her senior.) I believe she was persuaded 
to wait for half a year until the next course, since the airforce 
believed that (at least) one more girl would pass the test for that 
course, and they preferred to train two or three women at the same time. 
I think she/they should be in their late stages toward becoming fighter 
pilots by now, possibly they're doing in-squadron tactical training or 
something like that.

There was also a woman accepted for submarine service in the same course 
as a friend of mine, who will graduate next month, but she switched to 
some kind of surface vessel duty (to his relief).

Anyway, there will be female fighter pilots, submarine officers, and 
infantry officers in Sweden very soon, if not the first have already 
appeared this year.

Rather recently, I heard that the airforce was due to get it's first 
female major soon.

I'd say that female officers are rather accepted, even though some male 
officers don't like them at all, and many think that it's stupid to let 
women into all careers (such as fighter pilots and submarine officers).

Tomas
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomas Eriksson                                          tomas_e@physchem.kth.se
            Surface Force Group, Department of Physical Chemistry,
               Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

"These latter-day practitioners of surface chemistry reflect a lingering of the
adventurous spirit of the Enlightment" -- Charles Tanford
Newsgroups: alt.war