Women in the RAF - advertising genius or failure?

The Metro is a wonderful newspaper. It's available free on most public transport (buses, trains, the subway) and has regional emphasis. One of the most widely read newspapers in the UK, it also manages to take a fairly balanced viewpoint on most events, without the political agenda of the Sun, Daily Mail or the Guardian. (This is worth imitating, America!) I read it whenever I can. Normally I read the articles, but when time allows, I also take a look at the ads to see what they're advertising (usually cell phones). This ad caught my eye.



It's an ad for the RAF which is quite obviously aimed at women. The intended audience can be seen in a number of ways, mostly in the use of a female as the "hero", and also in its placement near the TV section. (As compared to the sports section.) It's done in a nice comic book style, which is quite eye catching, and effective in that sense. The text reads:

Flight Lieutenant
Laura Hodson
Aeromedical
Nursing Officer
RAF Reserves

(right side:)

Camp Bastion, Afghanistan 23rd July 2007

A convoy ambushed. Three critically injured.

(image: helicopter arriving to troops)

We had to fly them home Giving the best care we could.

What do you do for men who've seen what they'd seen?

(image: airplane)

A smile here, a kind word there.

Their eyes lit up when I found some cans of coke!

(image: man holding non-descript can of pop/soda/fizzy drink)

When I'm not with the reserves I work in a London hospital as a sister.

I took care of these lads like they were my brothers...

(image: photo of woman in flying helmet)

And I'd be proud if they were.

Be part of the story.

I approve of women joining the armed forces. If men can do it, so can women. But I recognise that it is a male-dominated male-cultured environment, and thus presents various difficulties to women. This ad, I feel, shows some of those difficulties.

1) The "hero" of this comic/ad is a nurse. This is a standard female stereotyped job. Why is she not a doctor? Why not a pilot? There are plenty of options in this same scenario that don't play into stereotypes.

2) The injured soldiers were men. While I recognise that more men are at the front line and that there are often rules against women being in the front line, and so statistically men are more likely to be injured, it also gives the impression that men are there to do the work and the women are there to care for them. (Notice the bold of the word "care" in the 3rd block.)

3) In fact, that word "care" in bold was one of the reasons I was so mad about this ad. Why "care"? It's so wishy-washy. There's no action involved. Sure, it's shorthand for "get them home alive", but perhaps "get them there alive" might have been a better choice. But then, following the plot lines, what action does she really do? She gives them "a kind word", and a can of coke. What about life-support? An IV? I'm not in medicine, but even I know that nurses do more than provide moral support. Why aren't the actions shown in the comic actual nurse-related actions? Any bozo could smile and hand someone a can of coke.

Though perhaps that's the type of woman the RAF is attempting to recruit. What do they do in their free time? They watch TV. What are they good at? Being emotionally supportive. What do they value? Family (shown in emphasis of "brothers") or Religion (alternate meaning of sister at a hospital -- unclear).

I know women in the military is a big thing, both in the US and in the UK, and many hardships are faced by female recruits in a number of areas, but come on people, let's at least try to recruit women who want to be equal and do the things men do.