This "social experiment" is just like all the others. Somehow they managed to survive integrating blacks into the military, I'm sure they'll figure this out. Will it be disruptive? In the short term, I'm sure. Will we end up with a stronger force as a result? History indicates, yes.
Still, glad to see that they are planning on making the physical requirements whatever the requirements for the job are. If you need to be able to carry 60 lbs for 20 miles, then that's what you need to be able to do. Cheers, Judah On Fri, Jan 25, 2013 at 2:37 PM, Bruce Sorge <[email protected]> wrote: > > So today General Cone, the commander of TRADOC (Training and Doctrine > Command) announced that the services will have to ensure that the standards > are met in regards to women serving in combat jobs. > > > http://www.armytimes.com/news/2013/01/army-physical-standards-key-for-women-in-combat-012413w/ > > A couple of paragraphs that stood out to me: > > While their focus must remain on winning the battles and protecting their > troops, they will now have the distraction of having to provide some > separation of the genders during fast-moving and deadly situations, said > Boykin, a retired Army lieutenant general. He noted that small units often > are in sustained combat for extended periods of time under primal living > conditions with no privacy. > > What I take from this part is that if a female wants to be in the > Infantry, she will have to get used to the idea of changing clothes, > bathing and going to the bathroom with little to no privacy. Of course the > other side of this is that male soldiers will have to learn not to stare > and make lewd comments, which at this time will be hard to do. > > "In addition to questions of strength and performance, there also have > been suggestions that the American public would not tolerate large numbers > of women being killed in war". > > This one is a no brainer. But hey, if it's equality that women want, then > they should be willing to die just like men are. > > "And these conflicts, where battlefield lines are blurred and insurgents > can lurk around every corner, have made it almost impossible to keep women > clear of combat". > > This one is very true. In fact, while women were not allowed to serve in a > line unit, we did have three females on our COP (Combat Outpost). One was a > medic who went on several patrols and we became good friends. She is an > exception. She no only went on patrols with us, she carried her 60lb aid > bag without complaint. She even responded to an Afghan soldier who, through > his own stupidity, stepped on an IED and blew off part of his leg. Her > performance in that situation was flawless. The second was an HCT (Human > Intelligence Collection Specialist) who also went on a lot of patrols with > me. She did not complain and actually helped us out by being able to talk > to the females in my village and get some good intelligence. The third was > a TOCRoach (Someone who spends their entire deployment in the Operations > Center). > > "Still, as recent surveys and experiences have shown, it will not be an > easy transition. When the Marine Corps sought women to go through its tough > infantry course last year, two volunteered and both failed to complete the > course. And there may not be a wide clamoring from women for the more > intense, dangerous and difficult jobs, including some infantry and commando > positions". > > There was an interview yesterday on Fox. A female Marine Captain who said > basically that she could not hack the infantry. She suffered extreme muscle > atrophy (how that happens I have no clue, the Infantry makes you stronger, > but whatever), would trip a lot on patrols and during firefights. > > So the bottom line for me is that as long as the standards are not > changed, and a female can perform the same as a man in that particular job, > then go for it. Let's see how this works out. But, we all know that there > is a natural tendency for men to protect women (in most cases). Having a > woman by my side could become a distraction because I am going to worry > about her more than the men in my squad. All I can say is I am glad I > retire soon so I don't have to go through this "social experiment", as they > say. > > > Bru > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:360456 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
