Joan of Arc and Her Modern-Day StruggleAround 1412, a baby girl was born in Domremy, France. She was born into a peasant family in a remote region of eastern France. Her small village suffered numerous raids and she remained illiterate for most of her life. This little girl will become the woman we all know, Joan of Arc. At the end of her short life, Joan would become a national hero and one of the most significant women in history. The peril that Jeanne represents is still felt today by modern military women. I will examine his life as well as the modern parallels between military practices then and now. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay At the time of its birth, Europe was not a good place to live. England and France were completely immersed in a war so long that it became known as the Hundred Years' War. A war which began in 1337 when the English wanted to control the Kingdom of France. The French refused and a long and bloody war began. In 1422, French and English soldiers were mercilessly killing each other and no one really knew who ruled France. Did the English deserve to control France or were the French their own people? Joan would eventually help decide that. Around this time, ten-year-old Joan of Arc began to have visions. These visions instructed him to live a holy and virtuous life. These visions contained scenes of Saint Michael and Saint Catherine telling her that she would one day save France from the English, that she would be the hero of France. Eventually, his visions began to teach him how to begin his quest to save France. First of all, she was tasked with going one day to meet Charles (the heir to the throne, he was still too young to rule) and ask his permission to drive the English out of France and name Charles King of France. In 1428, Joan contacted Robert de Baudricourt, a military commander and supporter of Charles. After many doubts, he agreed to take her to see Charles after seeing the enthusiasm of the public around him. In order for her to visit Charles, Joan of Arc and Robert de Baudricourt had to make a grueling 11-day journey through enemy territory to the town of Chinon. To protect herself, she dressed as an armored man for this trip. When he arrives, Charles is not sure if he takes seriously this teenager who presents herself as the “hero of France”. The caption states that its vetting/consideration process was quite thorough. He had it observed by his theologians. They could only conclude that she was a perfectly normal girl who possessed the virtues she claimed. After being able to identify Charles dressed incognito among a group of commoners as well as after a private conversation in which Joan explained her visions and what they said, Charles hesitantly gave his support to the young girl. Seventeen-year-old Jeanne was given armor and a horse and allowed to accompany the French army en route to Orléans. Orléans was a French city besieged by the English. Eventually, after much fighting, the French took control of the English forts and other bases in the region. Joan was injured but recovered in time for the final push to secure the city. The French defeated the English at Orléans and ended the national perception of the English as invincible warriors who could never be beaten. Always tired of Jeanne's reliability, Charles was wary of Jeanne's desire to continue quicklyon Reims to claim the crown of France. Taking a more cautious approach, Charles and his army eventually reached Reims and retook the crown as Joan had prophesied. On July 18, 1429, Charles regained the crown of France with Joan at his side. The following spring, Jeanne received orders to Compiègne to face the unfolding Burgundian assault. In the midst of the battle, Jeanne was thrown from her horse and injured outside the city. Considering her a vital negotiating piece, the Burgundians quickly captured her. They held her for months while they negotiated with the English. After months and months of negotiations, a price was settled with the English. A sum of 10,000 Swiss francs was given to the Burgundians in exchange for possession of Jeanne. The English see this as an opportunity. To an unfamiliar eye, she simply looked like an average nineteen-year-old girl. But for the English, they had just captured one of the most important elements of French morale. They had obtained a symbol of France. They had taken a piece of France without ending a single life. Eventually, Charles heard the news of Joan's capture. He still doubted his divine abilities. He distanced himself and made no attempt to help free her. Although her actions were directed against the English army, she was turned over to the Church authorities so that she could be judged more harshly than a military tribunal could have been. Before her trial, she was held in a military prison. Joan was regularly threatened with rape and torture. She was able to protect herself by securing her armor. Angry at not being able to break her, the court ultimately used this against her. More than 70 accusations were made against her, including heresy, witchcraft and dressing like a man. She was found guilty in a private trial and taken to the town square. In front of approximately 1,200 people, Joan was burned alive on May 30, 1431. Joan was only 19 years old at the time of her execution. His ashes were collected and spread in the Seine. The war continued for another 22 years after his death. Charles remains king of France. In 1456, Charles ordered an investigation into Joan's life in order to reestablish her innocence. In 1456, she was declared innocent of everything and classified as a martyr. Joan was canonized on May 16, 1920. Joan remains the patron saint of France. Women today face the same challenges as Joan did in her time. 1948 was the first time women were legally permanently enlisted in the military. In all previous wars, women could only serve in support and medical positions. In 1976, the first group of women was admitted to West Point. Today, women make up about 16 percent of all military positions. Like Joan, women face obstacles if they wish to pursue a military career. Some positions are still closed to women today. Women cannot serve on the front lines, in special forces, in Navy SEALs, on submarine crews, or in any form of special operations. Two main reasons are given to explain why these roles are not offered to women. The first being their safety and the second being their lack of physical strength compared to their male counterparts. While there is some truth to these reasons, there are logical solutions to get around them both. When it comes to women's safety, more monitoring and changing laws would have a huge impact. For example, a few years ago, a young woman was raped. However, she waited years before reporting it to anyone.Because she was drunk at the time, she would have been punished more severely than her rapist. If the laws were changed and those who threaten the safety of women were held accountable, it would address this particular problem. It is a fact that not all women are stronger than all men. Some military positions will therefore probably never be open to women. But, as President-elect Trump has suggested, a woman should be allowed to hold office if she is physically capable. Any woman who can pass the same physical tests as men should be able to hold the same positions. Some, like former presidential candidate Ben Carson, believe that women can never physically outperform men and should never be allowed to hold combat positions. Military admission should be indiscriminate. As long as a woman can pass the same physical tests as her male counterparts, she should be allowed to serve her country. Fortunately, some recent laws have been passed allowing women to serve in other laws. In 1993, the Ministry of Defense passed a law opening many new positions for women. This was deepened in 2014 with an amendment to this law. Currently, 78% of positions in the Army and 99% of positions in the Air Force are open to women. As early as 2013, Leona Panetta (US Secretary of Defense) called for “an end to all restrictions on women that prevent them from serving in combat roles.” In 2013, a new female training technique was implemented in the army. It gives women special training in key areas. This new training would allow women to access all positions in the army by early 2016. In May 2015, nineteen women were allowed to participate in an experimental Army Ranger program which would allow them to being the first women to access special operations positions. Unfortunately, nineteen of them all failed the course. Eleven dropped out within the first four days and the remaining eight failed phase 2. Three of those who dropped out during phase two were given the opportunity to re-enroll. After a second attempt, these three women obtained their diploma in October 2015. It is therefore possible but would be difficult to integrate. As noted in what I read: “Marine Corps research found that all-male squads, teams, and crews demonstrated better performance in 93 of 134 tasks assessed (69 percent) than units with females. All-male units were also faster than all-female units when making tactical movements in combat situations, particularly in units equipped with large "crew-served" weapons like heavy machine guns and mortars, according to the study. All-male infantry squads also had better accuracy than all-female squads, with "a notable gender difference for each individual weapon system" used by infantry rifle units. They include the M4 carbine, the M27 infantry automatic rifle, and the M203, a single-shot grenade launcher mounted on rifles. The research also found that male Marines who did not receive infantry training were consistently more accurate in using firearms than female Marines who did. And when removing wounded troops from the battlefield, there were "notable differences in turnaround times between all-male groups and gender-integrated groups," except for the case where only one person – "the more often a Marine man” – took someone, the.