Newsgroup: it.politica
Titolo: Le donne minano l'efficacia delle forze armate

news.telegraph.co.uk
 
Hoon warned that women aren't tough enough for the front line 
By Robert Fox
(Filed: 02/09/2001) 
SENDING women into frontline combat units will reduce the Armed
Forces' efficiency, increase costs and could prove "little short of
criminal", a study by a leading military authority has found.
 
Right to fight: a new study suggests that women could put themselves
and their comrades in unjustifiable danger 
In a warning to the Ministry of Defence, the research uncovered
widespread evidence that female soldiers undermined the battlefield
effectiveness of troops. 
The study was conducted by Prof Martin Van Creveld, a specialist in
international conflict who lectures regularly at Army staff colleges,
by examining the integration of women into armies in Israel, Europe
and the United States.
His findings will influence Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, who is
due to announce his decision on whether to lift the ban on women
joining the infantry, the Royal Armoured Corps, the Royal Marines and
the RAF Regiment. 
The heads of the three Armed Services and the Chief of the Defence
Staff, Adml Sir Michael Boyce, are preparing recommendations to Mr
Hoon on the subject, with a final decision expected this month.
Prof Van Creveld, whose book Men, Women and War - Do Women Belong in
the Front Line? is published on September 13, found that women lacked
the physical strength needed for fighting at close quarters. 
Their relative weakness could, in some cases, put themselves and their
comrades in unjustifiable danger, which he described as potentially
"criminal".
In the book, Prof Van Creveld quotes a study of recruits at America's
West Point Military Academy showing that after eight weeks' training
men could develop 37 per cent more power in the lower body than women,
and do 48 per cent more work at the leg press. 
The US Army has calculated that the average woman recruit has 59 per
cent of the upper body strength of her average male counterpart and 72
per cent in the lower body. Women were also more vulnerable to injury
than men, the research found. 
A study of 310 volunteers in the US found that women were twice as
susceptible to leg injuries and five times more prone to fractures of
all types.
Prof Van Creveld found that anecdotal evidence of women fighting
during historical conflicts was unreliable. Stories of female
warriors, Amazons, were myths, he said, adding: "There is no more
reason to believe they ever existed any more than Barbarella or
Wonderwoman."
Myth also surrounded the roles of women in more contemporary Armed
Forces, including the Soviet Red Army, the US forces and the Israeli
Defence Force, Prof Van Creveld found.
Although Israel called up women more than any other modern army, few
served in the front line, and were conscripted for shorter periods
than men.
Women also accounted for a small proportion of troops in the US armed
forces, Prof Van Creveld found. During the Vietnam War, only eight
American servicewomen were among the 57,000 fatalities. Of the 388
casualties in the Gulf war of 1991, 13 were women.
Prof Van Creveld witnessed women training for the Israeli army in
scenes he described as bordering on farce. When men and women recruits
set out on runs the men were soon out sight. During stretcher drill,
women struggled to cope with the weight of their male colleagues.
Women in frontline units increased costs because separate facilities
were needed to provide for a relatively small number of recruits.
Serving and former Army officers have echoed the book's findings. Col
Mike Vickery, who commanded the 14th/20th Hussars during the Gulf war,
told The Telegraph: "Being shut down in a tank for hours on end in
combat could be very difficult with women in a unit. It can mean
having to urinate in a bottle, for example."
He added: "Handling ammunition is tough for the loader. Hardest work
falls to the driver, who relies on leg strength as much as arms and
hands. After a difficult day driving, you often have to replace the
track, which is hard enough for three men at the best of times."
An artillery commander added: "So far, women have proved excellent in
training, but they haven't been tested in war."
An MoD spokesman said: "The Chiefs of Staff have a very large amount
of information on the issue to consider. They will make their
recommendations in due course."
  © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2001.

Ma va la che non è vero.
Ciao
Veniero.