Joseph wrote:If you are going to talk equal opportunity you ought to be willing to live it.
Men and Women are simply not equal in all respects.
In a Infantry Rifle company, guys have to live in close quarters together, shower together, use the commode in front of each other and basically get to know each other on a intimacy level that most don't have outside of marriage.
Sure, back in the rear one can have separate things to avoid all that, but it doesn't work out in the field. For example, in Ranger school, I had to twice strip naked and spoon with another man in a sleeping bag because getting hypothermia and getting a recycle just isn't an option. Same kinda stories for Iraq and Afghanistan too.
On top of that, most of the guys vary in age from 18 to 23 years old and simply don't have the maturity to be that intimate with a female in a non-romantic fashion. I can't imagine the drama, actually, it would be horrendous.
It has nothing to do with what women can or can't do, and has everything to do with what young testosterone driven men (boys really) can't deal with.