[binreadin]

Believe you’re right. The Israelis tried women in combat units, but the women ended up breaking down physically very soon, even if the could initially approach the mens’ standards for physical fitness. There are still walls to scale with heavy packs, ammo and wounded, and it isn’t worth the time, expense and trouble to go any further with the experiment of adding women to combat units.

[RetiredArmy]

I agree. I had to hump a 60-70 pound ruck sack in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. I was in the very best shape of my life. I was 5 foot 10, weighted about 150 pounds and solid as a rock. We humped up and down those mountains, day in and day out. I drank 3 to 4 canteens of water every day just to stay hydrated. At the end of the day, even though I was in the best shape I was ever in, I was wasted. Totally wasted. We started humping about 7 a.m. and quit around 4 p.m. to set up for the night. By dark, every stinking one of us was asleep, (minus the guards) and except for your hour on guard during the night, we all slept from about dark, 6 or 7 p.m. to day light, around 6. You needed 10 hours to recover from the day, humping all that weight on your back, up and down those mountains, through triple-canopy jungle.

I will say this once, there is NO WAY any woman could do that. None. The 60 pound ruck sack alone would kill them within the first 100 to 300 yards. That is, IF, big IF, they could even stand up with it and start off with it. The pulling on the shoulders and on your neck is 100% tough. My neck always hurt and I have neck problems to this day probably caused by that load I carried on my shoulders and back all those months.

[dfwgator]

The Red Army tried it too, because Bolsheviks thought men and women were the same.

That experiment didn’t last long, neither.

[BuckeyeTexan]

Women don’t belong in combat units, period. Lack of upper-body strength is but one reason.