[Quila]

The physical conditioning has been compromised by the introduction of women in basic training. Women have a place in the armed forces.

I must take exception on the general principle:

1. I once dated a female sergeant who could take any man in the unit in a run with barely a sweat. She did marathons just for fun.
2. My wife could do a five minute mile and excelled at rugby.
3. One female in a unit of mine was the best deuce-and-a-half driver we had (no power steering and a bear to drive).
4. In PLDC (sergeant's school), one female student offered to lead the unit in aerobics, with all the "manly-men" obviously snickering. She wasted us all in 40 minutes and she was still going strong.

Only #3 was in any way "butch." I think the point would be simply equal standards.

[FreedomPoster]

Exceptional women will always exceed the physical results of many men. However, Armies are built with large populations. Anecdotal accounts of 90+%'ile women don't mean much. Women, on average, are much weaker than men, and are thus generally unable to haul heavy rucks long distances, unload a truck full of fresh ordinance rapidly, break track on an AFV and repair it, etc.

[Neets]

Thank you...I was slowly seeing this thread being turned into a bash the women thread again...I spent 10 1/2 yrs in the Army and saw many women who were/were not phsycally fit and able or not to do the job..and saw men who were/were not...Equal Standards is the key.

[Sci Fi Guy]

I must take exception on the general principle:

Oh please, he's talking about normal women. Not abnormal ones. And the simple fact of the matter is that women are not as strong as men. That's why there is a separate set of physical fitness tests for them. If they had to pass the male test there would be too few women in the Army to matter.

And I've got Army stories too. Like the time in basic when the entire female platoon dropped out of a run.

[smithson]

I agree with your point, that women can make it in the military. But that being the point, why has the military reduced physical requirements? I'm all for women in the military as long as they do what everybody else has to do. This special pc treatment has to go. You know, "equal work equal pay."