Dr Megan MacKenzie's new book, Beyond the Band of Brothers: the US Military and the Myth that Women Can't Fight, was launched by Stephen Smith, Professor of International Law at the University of Western Australia and former Minister for Foreign Affairs, at an event co-hosted by the US Studies Centre and Perth USAsia Centre.
About the book
Women can’t fight. This assumption lies at the heart of the combat exclusion, a policy that was fiercely defended as essential to US national security, despite evidence that women have been contributing to hostile operations now and throughout history. Megan MacKenzie is a leading expert on women in combat and her book is one of the only resources that systematically examines the role of women in the US military and the key arguments used to justify the combat exclusion, in the light of the decision to reverse the policy in 2013. MacKenzie's rich analysis of band of brothers culture and key myths associated with women and combat will also shed light on current discussions of gender inclusion in Australia and other parts of the world.
