Santorum: Women shouldn't be in front-line combat.

[CLARENCE 2015!]

Women are not in combat roles now- from what I gather the DoD is trying to put them in combat support roles- intelligence, comm, medical, etc which would put them closer to actual combat
Santorum is describing something that is VERY true....ther e is a natural instinct to protect women and I cannot imagine the horror of seeing a woman killed in action or wounded in combat...it is somethign that is difficult to describe and might sound sexist but thats not the intention

Santorum is exactlyr ight but should phrase his thoughts better

[CLARENCE 2015!]

It's not a "natural instinct."  It's entirely a cultural thing.  It just appears inborn because of the way gender socialization works.  Just like every other aspect of gender.

Regardless- it is there and would be an issue

Aside from that, women are less physically prepared for combat. There is a reason PFTs for women have lower standards...females are simply unable to push the limits of physical strength and stamina of men. Hell any woman serving right now could do far better then most male civilians in a physial contest... but women are unable to reach the required physical level for combat

[CLARENCE 2015!]

What I just mentioned- PFT- is the most crucial component of military training. Everyone from the new arrival at Marine Corps REcruit Depot to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has to pass as PFT and those who create the standards for it have set them lower for women because of natural ability

I agree that all women are not weaker then all men...that is what I was trying to say by saying any woman in the military is far more in shape then most civilian men and many men in the military...but combat arms troops (not even special operators but they are of course the extreme) need to excel at the PFT, not to mention the other tests they will undergo- challenge courses and the like