Another U.S. Female Soldier From The 109th Transportation Co., The "Rough Riders," To Die In Combat Since July

Photo: Pfc. Renee Sinkler.

Combat Kills Another Female Soldier In Afghanistan -- McClatchy News

ANCHORAGE — A Fort Richardson-based soldier, Pfc. Renee Sinkler, was killed in a nighttime attack on her vehicle in northwest Afghanistan this week, the Army said Friday.

Sinkler, 23, from Chadbourn, N.C., was the second female soldier and third overall from the 109th Transportation Co., the "Rough Riders," to die in combat since the 150-soldier unit deployed in July. A gunner for the mission, she was in the exposed turret of an armored MRAP vehicle when it was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, the Army said.

Three other soldiers in the vehicle were uninjured.

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My Comment: Our prayers are with her family and loved ones.

More News And Commentary On Women Serving In Combat Units

With DADT Repealed, Allowing Women In Combat May Become Next Military Social Policy Debate -- Daily Caller

This year the military may again find itself in the middle of another debate over social policy like last year’s debate over “don’t ask, don’t tell’ repeal — that of women in combat.

Last week, as part of a draft report on diversity, a military advisory panel — the Military Leadership Diversity Commission — issued a recommendation to eliminate the restrictions on women serving in combat units.

“DoD and the Services should eliminate the ‘combat exclusion policies’ for women, including the removal of barriers and inconsistencies, to create a level playing field for all qualified servicemembers,” the report reads.

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More News On The Commission's Support For Women In Combat

Commission to Recommend Lifting Ban on Women in Combat -- U.S. Department of Defense
Report: Let women take on combat roles -- Air Force Times
Women in Combat: Study Recommends Ending Military's Last Male Bastion -- David Wood, Politics Daily
Women should be able to serve in front-line combat units: military comission to advise Pentagon -- New York Daily News
Panel says women should be allowed in combat units -- AP
Report: Women Should Be Allowed in Combat -- CBS News/AP
Report: Women should be allowed to serve in combat -- CNN
Women in combat? They're already there -- John Kanelis, Amarillo Globe News
Drop barriers to women in combat -- Tampa Bay editorial
A level field: Lifting the ban on women in combat units will be a positive move -- Houston Chronicle editorial

Some More News Coverage On Permitting Women To Serve In Combat Units

A commission's draft report said restricting women from combat is out of touch with the demands of modern warfare. Getty

Report: Women Should Be Allowed To Serve In Combat -- CNN

Washington (CNN) -- A Pentagon commission on diversity is recommending the U.S. military end its ban on women serving in direct combat roles -- a restriction the group says is discriminatory and out of touch with the demands of modern warfare.

In its draft report, the Military Leadership Diversity Commission said the military should gradually eliminate the ban in order to create a "level playing field for all qualified service members."

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More News On A Pentagon Commission Recommending The U.S. End Its Ban On Women In Serving Direct Combat Roles

Women should be allowed in combat, report says -- AP
Committee says women should be allowed in combat units -- Boston.com
Women should be able to serve in front-line combat units: military comission to advise Pentagon -- New York Daily News
Report: Women Should Be Allowed in Combat -- CBS/AP
Panel Advises that Women Should Be Allowed To Serve in Combat -- US Navy Seals
Military Commission To Recommend Dropping Combat Restrictions for Women -- Ms Magazine
Ban On Women In Combat Is Discriminatory, High-Level Military Panel States -- Huffington Post
Women on the Front Lines -- Hot Air
Pentagon Issues Reports, Wants Women to Fight in Battle -- Obama.net
Now It's Time to Lift the Restrictions on Women's Military Service -- Nancy Duff Campbell, Huffington post

Women Can Be Permitted In U.S. Combat Units According To A Military Advisory Panel

Commission To Recommend Allowing Women In Combat Units -- Stars And Stripes

WASHINGTON — A military advisory panel appears poised to recommend allowing female troops to serve in combat units without any restrictions, calling the current prohibition an out-of-date idea that unnecessarily discriminates against women.

If approved by military officials, the move could open front-line posts to military women for the first time. Until now, either U.S. law or Pentagon policy has prohibited female troops from serving in any unit whose primary mission is direct ground combat, although they may serve in combat support roles.

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Update: Panel To Recommend Allowing Women In Combat -- NPR

My Comment: The sentence that caught my attention was the following ....

.... Since 2001, 114 female U.S. servicemembers have been killed in fighting in Iraq and 23 have been killed in fighting in Afghanistan.

But still .... putting women soldiers in FOBs and/or dangerous missions .... hmmmm .... I have my doubts.

Getting Ready For Women To Serve In Combat

Army Mulls Women In Combat Arms Units -- Military.com

The Army is studying whether to open combat arms units to female Soldiers, the Army's top officer said Jan. 6.

"We're looking at revising the policy," Gen. George W. Casey Jr. told a breakfast gathering of the Association of the U.S. Army in Arlington, Va. "We've had some work going on for a while, and that'll double back up to the secretary, I would think, in the next couple of months."

Women are currently barred from infantry, armor and Special Forces branches, Casey said. He did not say whether the Army is considering opening up all three areas to women, but he did say the study looked at the possibility of women in infantry.

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My Comment: This idea is always brought up every few months by someone in the Pentagon.Will this eventually happen .... probably. Women serve in so many capacities, serving in combat units will just be another role that they play.