Serena Williams (AFP/Getty Images)
SOLDIER MATERIAL? America might want Serena Williams in combat ahead of Pee Wee Herman, a female war pilot says. (
)
WASHINGTON — The nation’s first female combat pilot yesterday defended the Pentagon’s decision to allow women on the front lines of war, dismissing an argument that the genders shouldn’t be blended into the same battle environment.
“So that’s like saying Pee Wee Herman is OK to be in combat but Serena and Venus Williams are not going to meet the standard,” Air Force Col. Martha McSally said on “Fox News Sunday.”
McSally sparred with Army Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, who is calling the decision a social experiment.
“As a man who has been there, and a man who has some experience in these kinds of units, I certainly don’t want to be in an environment with a female because it’s degrading and humiliating enough to do your personal hygiene and other normal functions among your teammates,” Boykin said on the show.
Putting the best unit on the field should be the goal, said McSally, who once beat men to win an Ironman competition.
“If we want the most effective fighting force, we need to pick the most qualified capable man for the job, even if it’s a woman,” McSally said. “This is about military effectiveness and allowing us to recruit the most capable and qualified force.”
Military leaders will be challenged, Boykin said.
“There are many distracters there which put a burden on small-unit combat leaders and actually creates an environment because of their living conditions that is not conducive to readiness,” he said.
McSally got support yesterday from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was a Navy pilot and a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War.
“I think women obviously are prepared to serve side-by-side with men in combat,” McCain said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I just want to emphasize, though, there should be the same physical and mental standards for anyone to perform certain roles and functions in the military.”
Women are able to serve in more physically challenging special forces, said retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“There are positions that are much better for females,” McChrystal said.
“There are things you can do in special operations with females that are more difficult to do with just men.”