Defense Secretary Ash Carter recently decided that women will be allowed to join all combat roles in the military, including jobs in the special operations forces. But how do the men currently in the special operation forces feel about women being allowed into these roles?
Rand Corporation sent out a survey asking special operations forces if women should be allowed to serve in the Navy SEALs, Army Delta, or other commando units.
The men overwhelmingly answered that women should not be allowed to serve in these roles because it “could hurt their effectiveness and lower standards” of these highly elite groups.
Rand Corporation received 7,600 responses to their survey. Of those polled, about 85 percent said they oppose allowing women to have jobs in special operations, while 70 percent did not want to have women serve in their individual units.
Over 80 percent of respondents also had concerns that women are not strong enough to able to handle the demands of being a part of a special operations force. Additionally, 64 percent said women are not mentally tough enough to handle these jobs.
A Green Beret responded by claiming that women would not be physically strong enough to do his job.
“I weigh 225 pounds, and 280 pounds in full kit, as did most of the members of my ODA (a 12-man Army Green Beret unit)," he said. "I expect every person on my team to be able to drag any member of my team out of a firefight. A 130 pound female could not do it, I don't care how much time she spends in the gym. Do we expect wounded men to bleed out because a female soldier could not drag him to cover?”
Another respondent expressed concerns for the safety of women serving in special operations jobs. He pointed out that in most of the countries he works in, women are looked down upon by men.
He stated, "Most males in the area of the world I work in would rather back hand a female than listen to her speak." 
The men in the special operations forces also demonstrated worries about the cohesion of their units if women were to join.
Of those who took the survey, 90 percent said that their unit is “united in trying to accomplish its missions.” However, when asked if their unit would be united if women were part of their unit, only 48 percent said yes, while 33 percent said no, and close 20 percent were undecided.
One survey participant expressed concerns that women would not feel apart of the elite group and would become frustrated due to this situation. He said that if this were the case, the rest of the unit could fall apart.
H/T Military.com