Kathy0715: Anytime someone states "I'm all for, but.....", you're not really all for anything. I remember when people said women couldn't be firefighters and EMT because they had menstrual cycles and would cry. I remember when people said women couldn't be pilots because they had menstrual cycles and would cry, etc. Do you think John Boehner has menstrual cycles? .

Vincent: Now let's make it really fair and make women between the ages of 18 and 26 sign up for selective service just like the men have had to do.

Been there, didn't like the food, bugs & blood: Real equality will not be achieved until the draft is reinstated.

tardis_blue: I generally oppose war, but I oppose gender inequality more. And I agree with the others saying it's time to sign women up for selective service. I'm not thrilled with the whole idea of selective service, but it should be equal. It is just as traumatizing to lose a father or brother as it is to lose a mother or sister. And as the mother of an only son, I'd love to see my son's chances of getting drafted reduced. Some were looking at the possible distraction of sexual tension in the barracks and at outposts.

Sandra R.: All this is going to do is make wives/girlfriends uneasy when their men get deployed because you are going to have women around who tempt them, and we all know women will do whatever it takes to get promoted. This is a bad idea! So many people will come back pregnant, and relationships will be ruined. It's still so unfair the females PT tests are way easier than the men's. They should have to cut off their hair, too. Fair is fair!

Kristina replied: Sandra, women are already involved in the military in numerous aspects and thus already around men on deployments. The decision to allow them into combat roles does not change that. If you do not trust your husband to deploy without cheating on you, the problem is either you, him, both, and/or your relationship, not the fact that women are in the military.

OCsurfer: I'm a bit torn on this entire issue. On one hand, I'm all for equal gender rights. But on the other hand, there's a reason we've gone several millennia without women serving as soldiers. It may be distracting to the troops, it's more expensive to administer (male and female restrooms is only one example), and there's been no testing to see how a male soldier will react to a female soldier's presence or if she gets injured in the battlefield. I just don't think this has been thought out well enough yet.

Some commenters were more focused on the decision's effect on Washington than on the battlefield.

boyamidumb: As a Vietnam-era war resister, I was ALWAYS for a draft. I was drafted and I said NO. But I had to think about it and make very hard choices. The people around me had to think about it. My friends and relatives had to think about it. When everyone is involved, we will think harder about the choices we make and how we sacrifice our youth. I love my country, and I understand that we must have a military, but I also know how politicians have misused our troops over and over again. Bring back the draft and end the wars.

ttom: If it makes our leaders think twice about putting troops in harm's way for ill-conceived wars, I'm all for it.

There were more than a few attempts at humor that do not merit highlighting here. However, a couple of comments that were not terribly misogynistic and even kind of funny managed to find their way into the conversation:

Shari: I think as long as they can pass the exact same physical requirements, then why not? Might even be a benefit there, has anyone ever seen how crazy women can get when provoked? As a female, I would know. There be some crazy beeches out there. :)

Jackson: And they can end the war in seconds with the following line ...

"Oh, this is so typical of you, enemy soldiers. ... This is JUST like that war we had three years ago, when you said this would never happen again, and like a fool, I believed you....well, trust me enemy soldiers, there are going to be some changes in THIS relationship, that's for sure."

The enemy will surrender before that speech is done.