I have a unique perspective on this. I attended West Point, and women did the Infantry training along with us.
And these weren’t ‘average’ women. Most had excelled as athletes in high school.
How did they do? Not as good as the men.
And in real combat, ‘not as good’ is a very bad thing.
We’re just built different. Political correctness can’t change that.
bkmk
The only case for lowering physical standards to allow more women (and weaker men) into ground combat roles is when you need to militarize the whole population to repel an enemy.
Israel is in this position.
The USA is not.
A good article but who thinks Obama cares about genuine military readiness?
Women are wonderful people and bless them for having the patriotism to contemplate joining the infantry - but it would only bring disaster if it is enacted.
1. We have already addressed the physical side of this discussion but for some reason our "leaders" seem to think that infantry combat has become clean and sanitary, like a video game. It isn't clean and sanitary and at it's best is carefully choreographed murder. Infantry kill people and often get killed in the process. It's what they do. We have enormous trouble getting normal young men to break that psychological barrier, good luck with young women.
2. Magic. All of our young men and women are loaded with hormones and if we place them in close quarters in some fly-infested dungheap under life or death stress, magic will happen. When there are some members of a unit getting lucky, the other unlucky members hate the lucky ones. Those who have their lover in the same unit will do their best for that person - and usually at the expense of the rest of the unit. There is no place for magic among combatants.
3. More on the physical standards. They are really too light as they are now. Look at the video of troops operating in Afghanistan now: loaded like pack mules with helmet/armor, water, ammunition, grenades, rockets, mortar ammunition, medical kits, food all in well over 100 degree heat at high altitudes. If you aren't fully up to the best physical shape possible, you'll lag behind, causing the unit to lag behind with you.
It's a bad idea, period and we need to fire any military leaders behind this scam.
My question is this: if women are incapable of stopping a fellow college student they know from having sex with them, how on God's green earth are they going to stop a guy intent on killing them in combat? There won't be any Moonbat Brown and some cockamamie law there to help them.
Fudging the standards and winking and nodding won't save these women in combat. We are not doing them a favor.