Saturday, February 26, 2011

PoliceOne Inaugural Issue -
Women Officers eNews

PoliceOne has created a new eNews of articles and tips that are of are about issues that are specific to women in law enforcement. This new eNews is for any person in law enforcement, sworn or non-sworn, including managers, trainers, and supervisors of either sex.

In the February 2011 inaugural issue of the Women Officers eNews you will find the following:

Featured Articles:
  • What do to with a pregnant cop
  • Reviving the female warrior

Women Officer Tips:
  • Is your duty belt designed for women
  • Pregnancy in a police setting
 The link to this new eNews can be found under the Region 1 Blog - News Websites (listed in the right hand column) and at the bottom of this post. Check it out and pass it on.

http://www.policeone.com/law-enforcement-newsletter/P1-Women-Officers-eNews-February-15-2011

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

U.S. to allow women into combat - a move Canada made decades ago

Article by Marcia Kaye, The Star, Feb. 8, 2011 - 

Now that the U.S. Senate has voted to do away with the ban on openly gay troops, the focus is suddenly swerving to another group that has long been the target of discrimination in the American military: Women.

The U.S. defence department bans women from serving in on-the-ground combat units, such as the infantry, armour and special forces. This may surprise those who thought the 1997 Hollywood movie G.I. Jane — remember the bald, foul-mouthed machine-gun-toting Demi Moore who liked to “blow s--- up”? — was based on a real story. (It wasn’t.)

It may also surprise some Canadians — and likely many Americans — that Canada has allowed women into all military trades, including combat arms, for 22 years. The only exception was submarine service, a final bastion that fell in 2001. About a dozen other countries also allow women into active ground combat roles, including Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, France, Germany, Serbia, New Zealand and Israel.

But the United States doesn’t. At least, that’s the official policy. The reality is that it’s happening anyway. In Iraq and Afghanistan, officers don’t formerly “assign” women to combat units; they “attach” them, which skirts the policy while exposing the women to the same dangers as the men.

American women can patrol perilous areas as military police, but not as infantry. Female officers can lead men into battle, but aren’t supposed to serve alongside them. The sad irony is that in modern-day wars, where battles take place on street corners and in marketplaces, the combat ban doesn’t shield women at all — except from job titles, personal satisfaction and future promotions that ensue directly from officially documented combat experience.

Continued:
http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/930155--u-s-to-allow-women-into-combat-a-move-canada-made-decades-ago