Concluding blog post...

Writing blogs was defiantly something new and challenging for me this semester. I learned a lot about blogs I had no idea about. Thinking of a blog topic to write and discus about is certainly not an easy one if you're a first time blogger. You should defiantly want to know about the topic you're talking about and who your audience is going to be. But each blog I've posted I've learned many things on how to get better on writing one each time.

I had an idea about my topic, Women In The Armed Forces, but not as much as I needed to complete my blog posts' the way I should have. I had some difficulty on finding things to write about, not being sure if my community would be interested or not. To improve my blogs, I could have done better research about my topic. My goal this semester was to have readers be connected and interested in my topic, but I didn't fully accomplish that because me myself couldn't really connect basically because I did not do the proper research. But in the end, it was defiantly a learning experience and something new to do. Now, I know more about blogs and the whole meaning of them and more about my topic then I did when I first started writing.

For future students who want to blog or take this class, I suggest you know a lot about your topic you want to write about before you begin writing about it, the audience your writing for, and know how to research your topic and what sources to use. Listen and take from the feedback your community gives to you, it helps you go beyond your topic and find out information you didn't even know about or realize. The goal should always keep your readers interested!

Veteran's Day: Women in the armed forces

We all know Veteran's Day is the day to remember all the people that served in the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines. This year, more women got the recognition they deserve for doing their part in the forces. With the ban of women in combat, it was just lifted last January but little do people know, women have been serving in combat way before the ban was lifted. It is about time these women are finally getting recognized for doing their job!



Captain Armour, the U.S.'s first black woman to serve as a combat pilot is one of the thousands of women we give respect to for serving. She and other woman were technically banned from serving in combat which was leaving them to not have the same access to honor and benefits as the male counterparts. These women do very dangerous work and finally are receiving the credit, but weren't getting recognized because it was illegal at the time. It is nice to know that these strong, brave, women finally got their first real Veteran's Day!

Some Potential Sources

Since my topic has to do with women being in the military, I'll have plenty of sources to use and rely on for my analysis paper.

Some sources :

http://www.womensmemorial.org/H%26C/Resources/usefullinks.html

http://cnu.libguides.com/pswomenmilitary

http://www.nwlc.org/our-issues/employment/military-%28women-in-the-military%29?gclid=COj-yP74vLoCFU6Y4AodxkoAVw

These sources are the main three most useful sources I plan to use, plus more. These sources provide good information and great stories. I want my paper to be understandable and interesting at the same time. I want people to be intrigued by my topic and what I eventually plan to write about. I want people to some how relate. So hopefully it'll be a great paper! (-:

The "Opposing" Side

Now, there are always two sides to every story. You either like something or you do not. I have no problem with a woman serving in the armed forces obviously, and some day myself would like to serve; But then there is the "opposing" side. The folks that do not agree a woman should be in the military. In a poll from Debate.org, 66% of the poll say yes to women being in the military and the other 34% said no.

Here are two opinions from the 34% that said no, women should not be in the military.

"Women have a different role in society than men. Women take care of the family, women literally create the family. While men protect their families. So why start changing the roles? It's not even swapping the roles because there is no one dedicated to properly raising the children. I simply think not only what joining the army does to the woman, but also to her future, and possibly the future of her family, whether or not she will choose to have one." -Anonymous

I agree that men are there to protect their families, but that doesn't mean the women has to step back and do a certain "role" or duty just because society thinks she has to. What about the men who create a family, then leave and never are to be heard from again. That only leaves the woman alone. So therefor I don't agree that have to stay home and raise a family. The military is a perfect idea for single parent women and especially married women with or without children. Women don't have to join the military to compete with the men but to better themselves, learn and grow.

"If you put both men and women into the military, feelings may get involved. When feelings are involved, both parties may be emotionally hurt if one gets injured in war. Also, when feelings are involved, both parties tend to act rashly and may potentially threaten the entire military's lives if they don't think it through. This might even endanger their country's security." -Anonymous

Feelings are always involved in any type of job, not just the military so this comment kind of makes no sense, but then again it does. It all really just depends on the person and the environment.

Family Support During Government Shutdown..

Service members and their families have responded very carefully to all that’s been asked of them, especially since the start of combat operations over 10 years ago.  They have and deserve respect and support for continuing to serve honorably despite the many challenges associated with the vibrant military lifestyle through this government shutdown.

Unfortunately, as we all are now aware, another one of those challenges that all of us will have to contend with is the government shutdown. The government shutdown is affecting quality of life, family support, and child and youth programs that service members and families value. It is unfair to these families that their program plans aren't following up since the shutdown. I personally think they should figure out a way to continuing the programs and support systems even though there is a shutdown. Less fortunate families in the military are taking a big hit to this shutdown. For instance, right now if you are a service member and die during a lapse in funding, the death benefit will be delayed. This is unfortunate, and sad that a family would have to go through this all because our government can not be mature and compromise.

To be clear, military members and veterans will eventually be paid their contracted salaries and benefits, but the key word is eventually. Civilian defense department personnel may not even be that lucky.
Military members have been ordered to report to work as usual during the shutdown. Because of this, they don’t have the liberty of trying to secure other employment in order to pay for their expenses while Congress fights out the funding. This means that their mortgages, utility bills and other obligations will go unpaid. And while it’s a struggle for many to pay bills, military members are often penalized for not meeting their financial obligations.
Once a member becomes behind on payments, their command is notified, usually prompting a meeting with command brass and some course of action. Some military banks and credit unions may work with families during this time to avoid penalties, but it is up to each individual institution what course of action it will take, if any at all. This means that the services could be overrun with requests for help, and it’s impossible for them to help everyone in need.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, other benefits that military families depend on may be unavailable as well. Exactly what medical services will be available will vary by location. It’s advised that service members and those who receive treatment at these facilities call in advance of appointments to be sure that services are still available.

Veterans are not immune either. While lawmakers had the foresight to fund VA healthcare a year in advance in 2011, that is not the case throughout the entire VA. In fact, as reported by the Washington Post, if the shutdown lasts more than a couple of weeks, veterans who receive compensation from the VA will not receive their money, which is a switch from their position just last week. This prompted some to criticize the VA for not giving veterans enough time to prepare for that possibility.

Works Cited:
Lambert Desiree. Published Oct 1 2013.
http://www.dodlive.mil/index.php/2013/10/continuing-family-support-during-a-government-shutdown-2/

Now Accepting Single Parents and Pregnant Women

Recently this year, the United States Air Force has changed a few policies, and are now allowing single parents and pregnant women to join the Air Force. The Air Force wants to attract more higher qualified people to join and by allowing more people that were once disqualified, to now be able to have a chance to be apart of the Air Force. Trainees will also now be allowed to return to their programs after pregnancy, also receiving medical clearance. ROTC cadets can be commissioned and begin to follow-on training once they are cleared by a medical authority, the Air Force said.

"Air Force spokeswoman Laurel Tingley said the case of Rebecca Edmonds, an aspiring nurse who was kicked out of the Air Force in 2011 when she became pregnant before being commissioned as an officer, prompted the service to re-examine its rules." (OTB)

"Edmonds discovered she was pregnant in March 2011, a few weeks before her graduation, her attorney, Daniel Conway, said. She was commissioned that July and reported to her nursing transition orientation program, where she reported her pregnancy. Soon afterward, Air Force ROTC began investigating her, concluded she was fraudulently commissioned, and summarily discharged her as an airman basic. The Air Force also billed her about $90,000 for her scholarship." (OTB)

But some still do not feel like single mothers should be serving in the Air Force.

"Over 40 years ago,

Captain Susan Struck became pregnant while serving with the Air Force in Vietnam. Her superiors told her that if she wanted to stay in the service, she’d need to get an abortion, despite the fact that she had planned to use her accumulated leave for the birth and had made arrangements to give the child up for adoption with the goal of staying in the Air Force. She refused, providing her right to privacy." (xojane)

This policy actually makes a lot of sense to me. I like the fact that the Air Force is not discriminating against anybody and even allowing these women to have a second chance to do the career they really want. It's important that they follow through with this policy and continue on with it. It just gives hope to more women and can put an end to their doubt.

Work Cited:

Joyner James. http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/air-force-now-accepting-single-parents-pregnant-women/
Pratt Jane. http://www.xojane.com/issues/the-air-force-doesnt-want-single-mothers



 

Why women should join the Military ..

I think any woman has the ability to join the military! I myself am not a loud and athletic female, but I want to learn and grow to be those things. Anybody can do it, they just have to set their mind to it. But there is a few that think women shouldn't be in the service and think they are strong enough like men.

"Face the Facts!! Girls are just not as physically able as men are. Putting women in the front lines is just stupid. It not only puts their lives at risk, it her comrades at risk. If you had 50 women and 1 man, you could repopulate the earth 70 times faster then you could with 50 men and 1 women. Putting women in a place to die would be sealing our fate. Face it: We're NOT EVEN"

This is a opinion token from Debate.org from a person that obviously feels strongly about women not being on the same level as men and feel that they aren't even, which is not true in my opinion because women can do anything a man can. They aren't suppose to be competing with the men in their group, they are suppose to support and encourage their fellow team mates.

"Women are equal We are in the usa to be treated equally. Women deserve to be treated the same because we can, will, want to serve our country.! Women are strong willed and should not be undermined by men. If women want to serve there country they should be able to, this ^is saying that women should not be limited after we where promised equality."

This is from the same site, Debate.org, and this person feels that yes, women should be able to be in the military. All woman are equal and should not be down graded just because of gender. And I agree with this opinion 100% just because I think women can be very productive in the military.

"Yes and no but mostly no Women don't have the same requirements as men and it is bull. There should be one set of requirement for everyone if you not physically fit enough, you don't get in, man or women. You don't change the rules for women what kind of equality is that. Most the women in the military I've seen are scrawny and I would not want them watching my back. No way. They would never be able to drag me out of the line of fore if I happened to get wounded. Now if they pass the requirements the men pass also then give them a rifle"

Same site, but this is an yes but no pinion. I agree with this person somewhat because yes there should be a equal set requirement for everyone...female or male, it shouldn't matter. But I disagree that most women in the military are not scrawny, most of them get in shape pretty quick and look great.

Works Cited: Phillip & Crystal Ferreira. Published 2007. http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-women-be-in-the-military