[alarm rider]

As far as drafting women is concerned, I would have to agree that it’s a slippery slope. However, ships do not care who drives them and airplanes do not care who flies them. For these tasks, it is a matter of competence and training sans some combat situations as one could imagine.

The infantry/artillery, etc. is different.

In my experience as an MTI having trained both male and female airmen, I can relate the following:

In a flight of 50 men, you will get about 5-9 % of trainees that are not worth cr*& and will never be worth anything. You do not want to be in a critical situation with these people.

In a flight of females, you get about 12 to 15% of the same.

[MSF BU]

Well, if you held men and women to the same fitness standards the majority of army females would not pass; the remainder would be in the lower quintile of performance. Our training and testing has been watered down to accomodate the gals; talk to somebody who is familiar with SERE school in the eighties and SERE school today.