Remember, YOUR comments are welcome for this informal survey. Your name will not be used.--Harry

The submarine tender USS ORION (AS-18) was recently decommissioned, and on a post card with a photo of that ship, we read:

"When ORION was decommissioned last September and the crew marched down the gangplank, there was only one female officer - ONE TOO MANY. Females should be assigned as nurses ONLY to hospital ships."

Another Member writes:

"Women DO NOT belong on any sea-going ships whatsoever! Especially not on any submarines! I'm a retired MERCHANT MARINE Engineer Officer and also served as an Engineer on NAVY transports during the Korean War, where women were aboard as nurses and passengers. We had women crew members on board cargo ships in the 80's before I retired. In all cases shipboard romances immediately sprang up on ALL these ships. There was jealousy and feminine wiles, all kinds of crap detrimental to the operation of the ship."

Another opinion is voiced here:

"NO! NO! NO! Armed Forces should decommission all women, less medical, supply and research. Women are not reprimanded for poor performance by seniors - senior officers suffer by career changes when women are given poor evaluations. These are highly POLITICAL by our OVERAGE SENATORS!"

This vet also cites articles in PROCEEDINGS of the US NAVAL INSTITUTE (1008-1989) entitled "WHO'S TO BLAME WHEN WOMEN DON'T MEASURE UP?" which was written by Lt Ellen B. Hamblet; and one other article.

All the opinions voiced so far come from military veterans and all are combat veterans. Remember, YOUR opinion for this non-scientific poll is welcome. Your name will not be used, only your opinion.

Another card reads:

"As a combat MARINE vet of the Nam, there is NO WAY any woman should serve on ANY Naval vessel. They can't take the pressure of combat and they AREN'T men!"

My wife KAYCEE (161-LIFE-1986) is a strong, independent and intelligent woman, and we have a little girl (MEAGHAN COOPER), and she also agrees; women do not belong on board ships or subs, or in combat.

Another vet writes:

"I am vehemently opposed to women in combat units. As a West Point graduate, former paratrooper, Special Forces (GREEN BERET) officer and line infantryman who served three tours in combat in Viet Nam, I am convinced that women cannot measure up to the rigors of constant warfare. I saw this repeatedly with North Vietnamese forces and Viet Cong Forces who used women primarily in support roles as field nurses or equipment carriers or 'MORALE BOOSTERS' (sexual partners).

We often captured such women who simply could not keep up with their male counterparts. Countries such as Israel and Russia experimented with women combatants in significant numbers during times of great threats within their nations, and today they too limit women's roles within the armed forces. Quite simply, we are not arguing courage here, but strength and stamina. Furthermore, many nations who have experimented with women in large numbers within their forces have found (as we have) that when the standards are lowered for the women, they tend to go down for the men also, and this eventually leads to a weaker fighting force."

HARRY'S NOTE - it is not known by too many, but the Russians did make use of women combat troops in World War II. It is probably not well- publicized because they suffered almost total losses! Basically, they were CANNON FODDER.

Martha, our secretary here at SHARKHUNTERS, is the widow of a US MARINE combat veteran who was twice wounded on Bouganville, and she feels that women have no place in the military.

Another vet writes:

"I take a STRONG NEGATIVE STAND. I am vigorously opposed to these assignments - ALL OF THEM. In fact, I believe they represent acts of insanity."

HARRY'S NOTE - Perhaps this has no bearing on the subject, perhaps it does, but let me remember one incident that happened when I was a race car driver. I was a driver during those years, and I also was a Feature Writer for STOCK CAR RACING Magazine.

During the 1976 TEXAS 500, there were two women drivers; the first time EVER that women would drive the big stock cars on the high banks and so this was news, of a sort. Some of the drivers welcomed the new 'look' to the sport, others were dead set against this change. As for myself, I felt it was very unfair that these two women, Martha Wideman and Arlene Hiss, did not earn their way into this race as we all did, but they were given the use of some of the best cars on the track by those car owners. I watched one racer's wife sell her gold watch so he could buy new tires and I knew another who took a loan on his house to buy an engine, but these two women were given everything for free and that, in my opinion, was wrong.

They soon proved they were out of their element as Martha Wideman drove out of the pits for her qualification run and failed to turn the wheel! She slammed straight into the retaining wall - but the media guys rushed to interview her anyway.

At the next race, which was on the Milwaukee Mile, Arlene Hiss was doing so poorly that her car owner, in frustration, finally called her into the pits and took her out of the car. He then took the wheel and was running with the leaders.

At the TEXAS 500, I told Stock Car Division Supervisor Bob Stroud how the guys felt this was unfair and some felt women did not belong in this sport. He pointed to the grandstands and said that a third of all the paying spectators came out because of the women drivers - some to watch the women run up front, others wanted to see them beaten by the men - but, he restated, there were a lot more paying spectators in the stands because of the women drivers.

Then he made a statement that will stay with me forever. He said that if he could teach a monkey to drive a race car, he would put an additional 10,000 people in the stands!

As I said, this may have no bearing on this subject or perhaps it does. I just ran it out for what it is worth. Remember, YOUR opinion is welcome and will be published in our KTB Magazine. So far, we have about a dozen opposed (some VERY opposed) and none in favor of women serving on board ships, submarines or in combat. What do you think?