Posted on 06/17/2013 6:05:58 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
The street vendor emerged from a building and disrupted the patrol as it moved quietly up the sandy street.
“Hey, you wanna buy a soda?” he asked as he pushed the can in sailors’ faces.
Then, a gunman with an assault rifle appeared up the road and sprayed the patrol with bullets. Sailors scurried behind walls, some returning fire sporadically.
“I’m ready to move!” Seaman Anna Schnatzmeyer called out from a compound, where she found herself alone. No one answered. Her comrades were across the street, fighting inside a building where they’d taken shelter.
She called again, but getting no answer, sprinted across the road without covering fire. She thought she had no choice. An assailant had entered the compound behind her. Orange paint pellets from his gun splattered the back of her body armor and helmet.
If this had been real combat, Schnatzmeyer would be dead. So would most of her squad of coastal riverines, which was getting its first exposure to the hard realities of ground combat.
Twenty-two men and four women participated in the Riverine Combat Skills course in Camp Lejeune that ended May 2 – one of the first warfare training programs to integrate women since the secretary of defense lifted a ban on women in combat in January.
Perhaps the biggest lesson for many of these sailors was realizing just how much warriors rely on one another in battle. That dependency calls for an extraordinary level of trust, and it highlights some of the questions the military must answer as it integrates women into combat units.
Does it matter if a woman isn’t as strong or as fast as a man? If she needs help climbing a high wall during a firefight or dragging a heavy colleague off the battlefield – does that make her less of an asset? Can focus, determination and commitment compensate for physical shortcomings?
In many ways, the women in the five-week course blended seamlessly with their male counterparts. They all faced new tasks that challenged them mentally, physically and psychologically.
Some women struggled with physical tasks. For other sailors, the sensory overload of combat was most difficult – bullets flying, noise everywhere, fear, exhaustion and confusion all hitting them at once.
So, when the course was over and it was time to reflect, instructor Bryan Henley was not just addressing the women when he gave trainees one last piece of wisdom:
“When you go home, you gotta look yourself in the mirror and see if you got what it takes,” said Henley, a former Marine with combat experience. “It’s not about ‘God and country.’ When the shit hits the fan, it’s about the guy to your right and to your left. You gotta have what it takes to finish the fight.”
____
Coastal riverines protect internal and coastal waterways from enemy action. This puts them at risk of possible ground battle, something most Navy units don’t train for.
During the course, sailors were introduced to various weapons, learning not only how to fire them, but also how to break them down. They learned navigation, communications and fighting strategies, how to secure a room, guard an area and patrol an open road.
The challenges were particularly daunting in the final week, when the trainees applied all the skills they’d learned during three days of strenuous mock fighting in a wooded area of Camp Lejeune known as Combat Town.
There, they donned more than 30 pounds of gear, were issued assault rifles that fired blanks, and went into battle scenarios that had them exchanging fire with attackers, ducking into buildings and compounds, and devising routes of escape.
From the beginning, the women – all masters-at-arms based at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth – said they were so busy learning that they didn’t worry about what they couldn’t do.
“I love learning new things,” said Seaman Apprentice Audrey Warren, a 22-year-old from Henderson, Tenn. “I felt like I had to prove myself a little bit, but most of the guys here are really nice.”
All acknowledged having trouble with an exercise that involved running 100 yards, lunging 50 yards, dragging their partners across a field, and then calming their heart rates enough to fire at a target.
Several said they weren’t able to drag their male partners that distance alone, but they believed that wasn’t a game-changer.
“We all struggled. I got halfway, then we had to assist each other,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Linda Phonesaithip, a 21-year-old from Wisconsin. “I know I have a lot of work to do when I get back.”
Seaman Apprentice Susan Seibert, 24, from Illinois, said she signed up looking for action. The challenges, she said, will only make her work harder.
“During the PT, the instructors treated us like the guys, so we had to push ourselves more to keep up,” said Seibert, whose blond curls slipped out of her helmet in sharp incongruity with the camouflage paint that stained her face.
“I am very stubborn,” she added. “If someone tells me I can’t do it, I am going to keep on trying. … I am going to prove them wrong.”
____
One squad patrolled the main street of Combat Town, taking enemy fire. A second took position on the other side of camp, inside a residential compound where an assailant hiding in the woods had pinned them down with machine-gun fire.
One of their own was outside the compound, injured.
The third squad portrayed the enemy.
Camouflaged behind trees, Schnatzmeyer lay on her belly, her legs splayed and her focus on the sights of the M-240 machine gun she fired at her fellow riverines.
She was intent on laying down perfect fire.
It worked. The sailors in the compound were so overcome, it took them a while to pull their fallen comrade to safety so they could apply first aid.
Schnatzmeyer, who barely passes 5 feet tall, joined the Maritime Expeditionary Security Force a year ago before it merged with the riverines to become the coastal riverines. The merger brought women into the new coastal riverine force just in time for the ban on women in combat to be lifted.
As a master-at-arms – the Navy’s equivalent of military police – Schnatzmeyer thought she’d be manning a gate somewhere, checking IDs.
But once opportunities opened for women, the mother of a toddler decided she was ready to step up.
“Why would you join the military if you are not prepared to do the calling of being in the military?” she asked.
“Nobody wants to be away from family, in combat, in danger. But you can’t just say you are going to be home all the time.
“If they send me, I’ll go.”
____
The course included riverines from Yorktown, who are about to deploy to the Middle East, and a squad from Portsmouth.
Several men said they’d joined the riverines as a backup choice after failing to get into other elite Navy fighting units, such as the SEALs or divers.
The women, on the other hand, were thrilled to be getting the opportunity to join a combat unit and were determined to succeed.
“We feel like we are almost making history,” Phonesaithip said. “We are not the first, but we are creating a path for other women to do this.”
The five-week combat skills course is designed to educate sailors about the rigors of combat – not weed out weaker sailors, something that occurs later in the process.
Seaman Nathan Vincent, a Yorktown-based riverine, had doubts about serving alongside women in combat.
“A couple of them don’t meet the standards,” he said. “We were doing our runs, carrying the wounded, and a couple of them couldn’t do it. If a woman can meet the physical standards, then I don’t care.”
The current riverine standards don’t assess whether a sailor can carry another person or climb a wall in a firefight.
With some added requirements specific to the job, riverines follow Navy standards for physical fitness.
That could change: The Pentagon has given military leaders the task of presenting plans for integrating women into their units. But a riverine spokeswoman said the physical standards will be the same.
The Navy’s physical readiness test uses a sliding scale for men and women. It also adjusts the requirements by age group.
So, for example, while a 20- to 24-year-old man must do at least 37 push-ups and run 1½ miles in 13½ minutes, a woman the same age must do 16 push-ups and run 1½ miles in 15½ minutes.
“What we lack, males can pick up,” Warren said. “What males lack, we can pick up. It’s a give-and-take.”
On their second night in Combat Town, as the group prepared for a night mission, Seibert emerged from the barracks with an extra backpack layered over her body armor.
“Warm gear,” she said, when asked what she was carrying.
“Foundation, eyeliner …” quipped Petty Officer 3rd Class Christian Gvist, who is in Seibert’s Portsmouth unit.
“We all tease each other,” he explained.
____
On the last day was the obstacle course – a challenge for men and women alike.
But short women such as Schnatzmeyer and Warren had it particularly rough.
Having to jump up to grab a bar or climb a high wall made some of the obstacles insurmountable.
So the women jumped and reached, and when they couldn’t make it, instructors would allow one to climb on another’s back in order to reach the bar and continue.
When it was over, Seibert had a bandage on her hand where her calluses had ripped off as she slipped from the bar. And none managed to climb the ropes. But they were satisfied.
“The stuff you go through here, it teaches you a lot about yourself,” Schnatzmeyer said as she cleaned weapons – the final task of the course. “It teaches you that you can always do better.”
To get herself through the tough parts, she said, she thought about her family: her husband and her 3-year-old daughter.
“I want her to have someone to look up to, and to just be herself, whether she’s really girly or really a tomboy,” Schnatzmeyer said, pushing up her ballistic goggles to swipe away a tear. “I would like to be a role model for her.”
Huh? A 20-24 year old man must do at least 37 push-ups.....now that is pathetic. Crap, I could have been a Marine. Hate to tell you, the Barbarians already here.
During the course, sailors were introduced to various weapons, learning not only how to fire them, but also how to break them down.
Were they also taught to clean and reassemble their weapons? We fervently hope so!
These are not Marines, they are squids. The 37 push-ups requirements comes from the need to hoist a completely full coffee mug in the Chief’s Mess.
bump
This ain’t the Corps.
About 60 pounds short of a light combat load
Try over 100 lbs short of a combat load.
In Operation Al-Fajr: (weights rounded)
600rnds 7.62x51 linked = 45lbs
7 magazines 5.56x54 = 5lbs
6 liters of water for the gun squad = 13 lbs (you may be wondering why I carried extra water for the team...bear in mind we are NEVER at T/O, so our 3 man teams were 2 man teams. The gunners had the machine guns and the remainder of the ammo. Same amount of equipment, just less people to carry it
M16A4 rifle = 9 lbs.
Kevlar helmet = 3lbs
Interceptor vest = 16lbs
SAPPI Plate (4lbs)x2 = 8lbs
M240G spare barrel = 6.6lbs
......oh, and by the way, this doesn't take into account an ANPVS-14, PEQ2, extra batteries, cleaning kit for the machine gun, cleaning kit for the M16, first aid kit, uniform (to include boots), gas mask, gps, compass, bayonet, extra pair of socks and an extra tshirt.
Notice, I didn't mention anything in the way of food, as I figured x1 pack of crackers and x1 tube of MRE peanut butter to be of negligible weight, but I was unable to carry anything else. The above was the bare MINIMUM I carried.
Did I mention this was the load-out for house-to-house assault?
That's a lot weight........AND I WASN'T THE ONE CARRYING THE MACHINE GUN (vice M16)....consider the gunner was carrying the M240G = 24.2 lbs and 400 rounds of ammo (about 30 lbs).
And, are y'all ready for the kicker? That was in 2004. Nine years later, some of the gear, like the new flak jacket, has gotten heavier. And of course there are things like kevlar diaper and side SAPPI plates that are required now that weren't required for wear then.
Did I mention you're expected to run/sprint and conduct house-to-house clearing operations? For streets and blocks at time..........
30 lbs is barely the rifle, flak jacket, helmet and the clothes on your back.
Glad to know I would have qualified to hoist at least two full mugs of coffee in the Chief's Mess. (rolling eyes at the amazing low requirements)
Making fun of Chiefs & their coffee.... Not nice, not nice (heh, heh).
Anyway, someone wrote during Tailhook ‘91 that given 100 males & 100 females, the ten strongest women are only as strong as the ten weakest men.
As for drafting older guys, I got activated in 2003 during OIF-1 to go to Afghanistan but our unit was sent to Uzbekistan instead. I was 55 but had to pass the P.T. test & hump a pack & road march everywhere during mobe training. It was kind of neat to be expected to keep up with the younger troops & train to the same standard.
Retired now. Loving it.
I'm with you, which is why I said a LIGHT combat load.
I carried less than you guys did because we did not wear body armor, and did not have the NODS, other electronic gear, and associated batteries. My load in long range recon was less than it was when I was in a regular rifle company where we did have body armor (for the point man only), mortars plus ammo, LAWS, etc. etc.
Bottom line is that women can't carry those loads and therefore the weight must be redistributed among the men. This was also true of men who couldn't do it, but they got weeded out pretty quick. That won't happen with women, the political commissar won't allow it.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, riflemen also carry the M203 with grenades (heavier than the standard M16). One rifleman in every fire team is required to carry the M249 SAW....again, heavier than the standard M16, but also comes with belted ammunition; fun times.
And if you're one of the many lucky riflemen, you get to carry extra demolitions for the combat engineers, AT4 rocket launchers, hand grenades, extra SMAW rockets, a radio, breech kit (hooligan tool etc). And for those really fun operations, extra 60mm mortars for the mortarmen.
Now, now, we're also being selfish. When our buddy gets wounded, we get to pick up and carry any essential gear he (or she apparently) was previously carrying.
When Ephialtes approached King Leonidas and asked to fight for him, the King explained why he couldn’t allow him to. Ephialtes didn’t have the physical ability to operate under the tactics and system that the Spartan’s used so successfully.
LLS
But, with all of the safety requirements imposed nowadays.....that was a LIGHT combat load for operations.
That was what I carried in every clearing operation. That was the requirement.
My comments are more pointed at others less familiar with what combat ops are actually like and how much this crap actually weighs.
As a light infantry company commander, I personally inspected every ruck before we got on the birds. Every ounce counted and since we stayed in the woods for 30-40 days, we could not afford to take anything that we couldn’t hump over the long haul. I don’t think that we could have done that with the current set of kit - the body can support only so much.
The tough part was the ammo. The mountains were frequently socked in, so you had to be prepared for a gun fight with no possibility of resupply. Nothing sucks so much as running out of ammo before you run out of bad guys. I’m just glad that I had draftees backing me up and not girls. The draftees were damn good soldiers.
While at university, I signed up to backpack in Wyoming. You had to be able to run 3 miles in 24 minutes and carry a 45 lb pack at 10,000-13,000 ft (tougher requirements then this warfare training thingie). I was scared to death that I would hold everyone back. I was taking an advanced German Lit class with the Dean. It was one on one and his office was on the 20th floor. I'd run up to his office with a 20 lb pack. The first time I came into his office he thought I was dying. This long winded post is just pointing out the pathetic low requirements. WTHeck is going on in the military?
I have never been in combat. But those who have been in REAL combat say that it is one of the most exhausting and physically draining things they ever experienced in their entire lives.
Furthermore, the realistic, extremely demanding and difficult training DID prepare them and help them.
We are not only putting people into this situation who are not physically constructed to perform under those conditions, we are emasculating and hollowing out the difficult training (to make it so women can pass it) to the point that the benefits of training will not prepare the trainees for actual combat.
We live in a time where the general public sees films like “GI Jane” or some other such crap where a 110 lb. beautiful woman is kicking the tar out of muscular athletic men, sometimes two or three of them simultaneously, and think “Women can do anything physically that men do, to exclude women is pure sexism to keep them out of the boy’s club”
They rationalize that in this age of push-button warfare, women can fit the bill just as well as men can. It is worst of all in the Navy (I am embarrassed to say) but the the USN is not that far ahead of the Air Force, which is only slightly ahead of the Army, and the USMC is going to succumb to it as well. Eventually.
But today’s Navy has not had to wage war as they did in the Solomon Islands, where there were three sailors dead for every death on Guadalcanal, and damage control took every ounce of strength from every man involved. The Marines did brutal house to house combat in Fallujah, descriptions I have read (particularly Bing West’s book “No True Glory”) make me extremely skeptical of how this would work with women integrated.
When we go to war again against a well equipped, dedicated and well trained opponent (as we most certainly will again someday) and we don’t have complete control of the air or our supply lines, and our troops have to depend on the sheer brawn and brains they have on hand, the brains might be fine, but in a death struggle against an equally determined foe who has us outmatched in brawn, that is going to make the difference. If a nail in a horse’s shoe can make the difference in a war, having women integrated into combat units going head to head with an opponent who doesn’t give a rat’s ass about political correctness or sensitivity training, well, that is going to end badly for us.
And the people who are responsible for making it happen will scream the loudest looking for someone to blame. And nobody will take them to task for what they will have wrought. Mark my words, down the road, we are going to pay for this folly in blood.
PMS while carrying a gun!
Regards,
GtG
PS Don't go there Dude...
“Furthermore, the realistic, extremely demanding and difficult training DID prepare them and help them.”
That is exactly why they are allowing women to join. Lowering the standards does not make you tougher and more self-assured. It makes you one of the “trophy participants” that is meaningless and keeps you from finding out exactly just how much stuff you can take. God even knows how to push us to the limit but doesn’t ever break us. Semper Fi from a Marine mom.
never really heard what males lack compared to female soldiers. if they did we’d have a sliding scale for them on whatever these made-up lacking issues supposedly are.
concur.
if you need to cry, cry afterwards. preferably alone or with your bud. beer in hand is acceptable, possibly a requirement.
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