I also have absolutely NO problem with women in front line combat positions. I know we are as deadly as our male counterparts.
That said ... I do not belive in co-ed units. Particularly in SEAL or SpecOps Units. At least not in having 'ongoing' co-ed units. If you need a woman on a specific op because of a specialized skill ... fine, but then rotate her out of an all male SOF unit. There are a couple of reasons for this, and it's not all 'because of the guys "problems"'. We have our own set of mental FUBAR going on.
1. Combat is an adrenlin-producing, stress-intensive situation. I think we've all researched and are familiar with combat hard on syndrome. It works on females as well as males.
1a). There are already too many female soldiers getting raped by their 'fellow male soldiers' (both stateside and on deployment). I don't know whether the situation/problem would get better or worse under the intensely closeknit environment of an SOF unit/TEAM/ and would just as soon not find out the hard way.
1b. Let's face it, sooner or later there's going to be sex involved. Which brings it's own set of challenges. People 'coupling up' and then 'breaking up'. Jealousy and competition over the limited available 'piece(s) of ass'. Sexual politics and maneuvering. Better to just not go there.
2. Men react differently when women are around. They 'bond' differently, and I don't think as well as, they would in an all male unit. There's always that added sexual tension, even when sex isn't on the table/agenda (so to speak). They can be very UN-PC "guys" without us hung around their necks like an albatross. And it's no different for women. Women who are in an all female group have a different intergroup relationship than we do when there are men in the group. The men won't bond as well and neither will we. We work together differently when men are present/absent.
3. Something that I don't think the guys realize. We're just as protective of them as they are of us. It's been said that 'men will get themselves killed by being overly protective of the women' (which is probably true). They accord the other men the respect of 'fellow warriors' and just assume they can take care of themselves (although they cover each others backs). They don't have that instictive reaction to fellow female warriors. The other side of that is that women have those same prejudices, only in reverse. I know personally, I am much more protective of the males around me than I am of most of the women I know and that's not even IN a combat zone.
I think an all female front line unit/SOF unit is fine. I prefer to keep the units 'segregated' and only bring them together for limited periods/special operations. Then go back to their standing unit assignments.
Yeah, I know... weird to hear this point of view coming from a woman, but then, I never claimed to be normal. ;-)