By Rachel Vigil

Recently, Capt. Kristin Griest and Lt. Shaye Haver graduated alongside 94 men from army Ranger school, the rigorous program used to push military personnel their hardest over three phases.

They proved that women could endure the same rigorous training undergone by the men in their regiment. However, they are still not allowed to join the 75th Regiment of Rangers or many other combat jobs.

Currently, 90% of military jobs are open to women. They make up about 15.7% percent of the entire forces as a whole with about 203,000 women total.

For the majority of U.S. history, women had little to no involvement in most of the armed forces. A few disguised themselves and fought alongside men, as well as the numerous women who served as nurses or caretakers of soldiers. Loretta Walsh was the first woman to enlist in the army in 1917, but military jobs were not legally open to women until a 1948 law allowed them to permanently enlist.

Though many advances have been made towards the total inclusion of women in the military, such as an order in 2013 that opened combat jobs to women, there still exists a mental attitude that bars many women from complete inclusion in the U.S military. On top of that, many reports of sexual abuse of women in the military have recently shown that it is a hostile environment when it comes to the safety of personnel.

According to the Military Times, an estimated 20,000 troops in a 170,000 troop survey reported having been sexually abused. Women are now more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed in combat. However, only 13.5% of sexual abuse cases are reported because many of those who do report are met with little to no help.

In addition to that, male leadership instills the idea that women are somehow inappropriate for military jobs, whether it be because of the supposed sexual tension it will bring to the unit and that they will not be as effective as men as killers or intimidators of their foes.

In fact, when the Marines were asked about whether or not the Marine Corps would allow women to join their ranks, they responded with an offensive piece on how ill-fit women are for the job. In it, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold stated, “The characteristics that produce uncommon valor as a common virtue are not physical at all, but they are derived from the mysterious chemistry that forms in an infantry unit that revels in the most crude and profane existence so that they may be more effective killers than their foe. Polite company, private hygiene, and weakness step aside.”

How can a change be put in place to give women social and official equality in the military? Not only does a new system of allowing women to enter those positions be put in, but a change in mentality for all those in the military must be achieved.

When we come to a change in mentality for the military, everything becomes less simple. Perhaps the hostile environment that is created for women in the military stems from the fact that the military’s main purpose is a hostile one to begin with. Women need to be respected the same level as men from the beginning of any of their experiences with the military.

Women are shown to be more trusted by civilians, and their smaller build can be used to gain access to essential locations during missions. They have also proved, through Ranger School, that they can push themselves just as hard as men mentally and physically.

Instead of attempting to divide women and men, acknowledge their different strengths that can be used together to achieve maximum equality and efficiency in our armed forces.  Whether or not you support the military (which I do not) everyone should support equality.