Jessica Lynch is a tiny little thing. What 's she doing in the front line?

[KoKo]

I've not seen Jessica before and I didn't watch the movie. But, MSNBC just showed part of Kaity Couric's interview with her and I was shocked at how tiny and quiet she is. She doesn't look like my idea of a soldier that would be sent into battle to kill and shoot. She doesn't look like she could hold a gun she's so tiny.

She also seemed a little "out of it" (maybe she was nervous and is on medication) but I can't believe this is what our military is today.

I have a problem with women fighting in the front lines. I have a problem understanding how this tiny fragile person could hold weapons and be agressive enough to do what has to be done in battle.

Can someone help me understand how she could be tough enough physically to be in combat? I'm not thinking that every female who is in the Army should be a 6 foot tall body builder...but I don't understand why it isn't cruelty to put someone like her in combat. I can't even understand why she would WANT to be in combat!

[trotsky]

1. She wasn't.

She was in a supply company that shouldn't have been anywhere near major fighting. They took a wrong turn.

[KoKo]

5. She was part of an Invasion....isn't that considered Front Line? Sorry,

I don't know the military heirarchy. They were invading Iraq and she had to bring in supplies, but she still has to be able to shoot a gun, and how they heck is she strong enough to haul supplies around. She was definitely in danger...not at some base somewhere checking supply invoices..she was in a military transport, right?

[Shakespeare]

12. No, she was part of a supply convoy....

....that was supposed to stay WELL BEHIND the front lines. That's the under-emphasized tragedy about this whole mess--all of those who died, including her roommate and friend, Laurie Piestawa, should never, ever have been put in the position they were in.

[corarose]

26. Maybe they didn't take a wrong turn it could have been a set up

:kick:

[trotsky]

28. Oooh....

Something to ponder, eh? :tinfoilhat:

;-)

[corarose]

29. Why were the cameras Johnny on the spot?

Kind of strange right?

[tlb]

36. Combat photographers have been with the troops for 50 years.

That a cameraman was on this mission isn't so surprising. How could the retrieval fo a woman POW not be an interesting subject ?

[soothsayer]

2. she was a supply clerk

supposed to be delivering stuff to the troops

[DrFunkenstein]

3. What About That Chick From Aliens?

Vasquez was bad ass!

[Skittles]

14. LOL

Man to Vasquez: HAVE YOU EVER BEEN MISTAKEN FOR A MAN?
Vasquez: NO, HAVE YOU ??? :D

[Nay]

17. Love that line. I laugh every time. She could KICK ASS.

[wuushew]

4. Vietnamese men and women had no problem fighting us

neither did central American children.

Killing only requires the strength to pull a trigger. As for differences in stamina I have no data in front of me to show the variation between the sexes.

[KoKo]

6. I thought you had to survive training and have stamina to be in the Army.

That's different from people who feel they are defending their homes.

(I guess I'm more the Scarlett O'Hara, Melanie Wilkes kind of female). I would do it, but only if I had to and I wouldn't like it.

[lynndew2]

33. She was the Private Benjamin tpye

Even wondered where she would store her curling iron. But she did go through basic training and passed.

[libertad]

7. I find this offensive and bigotted against small people and women

in particular. In today's military, I would think a smaller person would have an advantage, not a disadvantage. Most weaponry is easily handled by anyone (due to technological advances). A large, cumbersome person may be at a disadvantage as a larger, perhaps slower target. I was an active duty member of the armed forces and I was even smaller than Jessica Lynch.

[cally]

8. Yes..is he or she can handle the equipment then

what does size matter. It's all stereotypes. She's small, but how does that stop her from using a gun or her brains.

Let's get on the Repuke bandwagon on how women are too fragile to kidk ass..Please. Sarcasm off now

[CatWoman]

31. there are height and weight requirements for box sexes

obviously she met them.

[bicentennial_baby]

9. Rock on!

I'm 5'2, 110 lbs, but I would have been great in the army. I'm fast, light and strong, plus I'm a pretty good shot too! Small people rule! :bounce:

[truthspeaker]

13. I'm with you 100%

Equal rights means equal rights, including the right to shoot or be shot at. I know the OP didn't mean it that way, but I find it kind of insulting to all the women in the armed forces.

[Nay]

18. Plenty of small men were tunnel rats in Vietnam. Women could do that, too.

[homelandpunk]

35. I'm a fan of Randy Newman

[KoKo]

10. My 95 year old father was 5'4 when he signed up in WWII for Army but

they wouldn't let him go into combat. He spent his years in WWII in Dayton Ohio, doing engineering plans. He never got over that he was "too short" to be sent overseas. They had restrictions then, I thought they still did. I don't know why a 5'4 man couldn't fight in WWII.

By the way, with age he's shrunken to 5'1, but he's still feisty enough to shoot a shotgun.

So, I'm not bigotted against short people. ;-) A whole lot of small people in my family.

[Journeyman]

11. Audie Murphy wasn't very tall, either. . .

After the war, the studios used to stand him on a box so he could kiss the leading lady. Didn't keep Audie from either being a soldier or scoring big with the starlets. . .

[RazorNY22]

15. Size shouldn't matter as long as...

standards aren't lowered to accomodate physically weaker people. Many NYC firefighters complained when females were first hired because they didn't meet the same physical requirements as the males.

The men were required to pass an obstacle course and carry a 500 lb. dummy to safety. The females weren't. And as a result you had female firefighters that couldn't do the same work as the men, and in fact endangered people.

Everyone should have the oppurtunity to work whatever job they like, but the standards should apply to all.

Razor

[spooky3]

20. Are you sure your facts are straight?

I was an expert rater for another city's challenged firefighter testing. The major problem was that a lot of the tests were not job related. For example, the city was unable to show any instances of firefighters' having to carry large amounts of weight (such as 500 lbs). Instead, firefighters dragged weights (such as adults being pulled to safety, most of which weighed a lot less than 500 lbs.). There were quite a few other examples. So the tests were reformulated to match what was REALLY required on the job. It still meant that mostly men were hired, since men as a group did better on the tests, but the women who were hired passed all of the tests and were just as capable. The same standards DID apply to all.

[loudnclear]

16. Taking Barabara's or Jenna's place no doubt!

somebody has to go...it might as well be someone else's children.

[paradisiac]

19. From the interview

it sounded like Jessica's unit was supposed to be protected by staying close to the other units that were better trained and equipped for combat. But they fell behind because their vehicles were getting stuck in the sand. She said something like they had to stop every 5 minutes to get a vehicle dug out (that may have been hyperbole(?)). She also said they had to drive/work 2 days straight (no sleep) in order to try to catch up to the forces they were supposed to supply.

[KoKo]

24. Then they put this fragile person "into harms way" because Rummy was on a

shoestring budge as far as troops go. Stretched thin because of Afghanistan...little Jessica and Shoshanna who were "Supply Back Ups" were injured and could have been killed...because they took a "wrong turn" because of "wrong directions."

This is SICK! There should be PUBLIC OUTCRY! But because with the Bushies the "Spin and Lies" know no bounds and we are told to believe Orange is Pink and Down is Up....then Jessica's and Shoshanna's are just fed to the "Unending Wars" in the Pursuit of Democracy in the ME.....and they are the "bread for the circuses."

It's :puke: to me.....that we have soldiers dying there for this idiocy...and vanity.

[KoKo]

21. I think I'm getting bad vibes about "Females on the Front Lines" in the

Military. When I saw Jessica....I had BIG problems about her being capable to go at Iraqi's from Saddam and shoot their heads off and have the brains spew all over them with the blood and other gross stuff.

[kiahzero]

22. My understanding

that things like this happened because while we were blitzkrieging Baghdad, we didn't cover our supply lines.

[kayell]

23. That's what I remember

They were running as fast as possible to Baghdad, convinced that once they had Saddam, the whole country would start dancing and singing our praises. They also constantly said that this or that city was under control, when it was anything but. They were running so fast to Baghdad, that they were getting cutoff from their own supply lines. Jessica Lynch was a victim of overconfidence and incredibly poor planning, as were the other people with her.

[criticalwords]

25. About Jessica Lynch...

I remember when the story of her capture and rescue first broke, and seeing a press conference with her family.

Anyone remember what they said?

They said she when to the military...BECAUSE THEY OFFERED HER MONEY TO GO TO SCHOOL...and she liked the idea of traveling.

Doesn't sound like she entered the military to fight does it?

No, she entered the military...BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO ENRICH HER LIFE AND POSSIBLY RECEIVE MONEY TO GO TO SCHOOL.

What's my point? She, like so many...POOR PEOPLE...in this country are...TARGETED...by the military establishment. I guarantee you that they don't recruit potential soldiers as hard in Beverly Hills as they do in the Comptons.

THE MILITARY SPECIFICALLY TARGETS POOR PEOPLE LIKE JESSICA LYNCH BY WAVING MONEY IN THEIR FACES. She got into something that she wasn't looking forward to. And a very large percentage of our troops in Iraq got into the military for the same reasons that she did. The military came to their poor schools in North Carolina, Iowa, Indiana, South Carolina, etc, and promised them money to go to school if they came to the military.

I remember it all too well. I used to get so sick and tired of the recruitment officer in my area that I would just let the telephone ring.

Man you must think I'm crazy don't you??? There was not enough money in the world to bait me in that way. But don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for all of the sacrifices that our troops have made over the years. They are truly brave. Braver than I am. I know someone personally who served in Vietnam, and I know a guy who was called up recently and pulled out of college to go over to Iraq. I empathize with the troops, and I understand the fears associated because I am close to both ends. A veteran and a young man who will follow the orders of his superiors.

However, there is no denying the fact that...THE MILITARY DOES TARGET POOR NEIGHBORHOODS. That's why the current military enlistments have...SKYROCKETED. It has nothing to do with post-9/11 patriotism, like Fox News could so beautifully spin it. It has everything to do with being unable to find any other kind of jobs. I saw a story on this the other day, and there was this guy enlisting in the military, because he said he needed a paycheck. You know it's bad times when you will risk your life just to receive a paycheck.

And no, my words don't mean that I do not love my country, but I will not be a...TOOL... for anybody, and for people like Bush, Bremer, Cheney, and Rumsfeld, that's all the military is. For these elitist bastards, the military is nothing but...A TOOL, AN INSTRUMENT...to achieve some goal that they have. A life for a dollar for Halliburton which in turns puts a dollar in Bush's re-election pot? And then they have the audacity to cut veterans' benefits and screw the soldiers by not...FULLY...freeing them of debt while they are in active duty.

Target the poor and then burden them more.

It's disgusting how they treat our soldiers.

[KoKo]

27. thanks for this post......it puts alot into perspective......targeting

the poor.....they've done it for a long time.....but it's worse maybe with the "all volunteer Army." More "class warfare."

[Catherine Vincent]

30. You are 100% correct.

They do target the poor. And there is nothing wrong with that as long as everyone is aware of it. I think everyone is. Most rich kids do not enlist in the military. But there is a small percentage that do. A co-worker of mine had his son enlist in the military. They are not rich but I consider them comfortable to well off. I don't know why he enlisted when he didn't need to but I believe it's because his father was in the military and wanted one of his sons to follow in his footsteps and he figured it would look good on his resume. His other two sons didn't go for that though. They rather college first and then work (I don't blame them). The enlisted son got his degree first and then enlisted. Very smart kid. He was blessed to not have been killed in the Cole incident.

The reason I posted this is because I believe most that enlist in the military because of the GI bill and a paycheck but there are some that serve for other reasons.

[CatWoman]

32. Thems some mighty fine words there Critical

welcome to DU!! :hi:

[Silverhair]

34. Hello? Does anybody not know what the Army does?

A very long time ago I went into the Army straight from high school. I was promised, and was given, electronics training. (That was back when vacumn tubes were the standard.)After the Army, I went to college on the GI Bill. But in between I went to Vietnam. Guess what - from before I signed up for the Army - I KNEW WHAT THE ARMY DID. Did she think she was joining some sort of coed camfire girls?

[MercutioATC]

37. Agreed, but so does McDonald's...

It's more about available options than exploitation, IMHO. McDonald's doesn't get a lot of college-bound rich kids applying for jobs, so it targets lower-income neighborhoods where a McDonald's wage is an acceptable option. The military doesn't pay well and requires people to do things they might otherwise choose not to do. Rich kids can do better, and the military knows it. For people without resources, however, 20K or 30k for college sounds great.

I hear what you're saying, but I think they're just targeting the most receptive audience...not exploiting the poor.

[OldSoldier]

38. Jessica Lynch was a REMF

REMF = Rear Echelon Mother Fucker. A service-support troop.

She was a supply clerk in a maintenance company. Maintenance companies are not front-line combat units; if her convoy wouldn't have taken a wrong turn and driven right into an Iraqi unit, you would have never heard of Jessica, or her roommate Lori, or the 507th Maintenance Company. Which is as it should be.