I agree there. But I consider that to be combat arms, i.e., infantry, cavalry, SF, etc. And that's only because our societal mores aren't ready it. The overwhelming psychological need for men to "protect" women is so deeply engrained in our psyche that right now it's impossible to put a woman in a foxhole with an infantry squad. The fear is that males would take ill-advised risks rather than put the female in harm's way.

However, Abu Ghraib aside, woman have been in MP units for years performing many hazardous duties with great success. If a civilian woman can be a cop and search a building for an armed suspect, there's no reason she can't do it in the Army. The cordone and search tactic being employed in Iraq is very similar to that.

I'm curious (well, Navally ignorant, really), if your husband's female CO was a top performer in your book, why wouldn't he want her to command a ship? Is there that much difference between shore duty and sea duty in that regard?