Pentagon lifts ban on women in combat

Then now is the time to go completely to equal standards. No more lesser physical standards for women. If the jobs are available equally, then the standards for performance must be the same – only logical. If lesser requirements are required because the candidate is a woman, then logically a male meeting those standards could also accomplish the job – and to deny it to a man meeting the requirements for women would also be discrimination. Otherwise, we aren’t talking ‘equality.’ Let the job dictate the requirements without regard to sex. If any individual can meet the requirements, they are qualified. If not, they are not qualified. That is only logical and truly ‘fair.’

I simply disagree with this. I’m a USMC vet and was married to a USMC vet. She didn’t sign up for combat and knew the best place for her was a support role. The cost of putting women in these positions would be to great. I’m all for equal rights but the marines is not a democracy. Why on earth do we want to mess up are military just to make the ACLU happy? The marines want the best, period! If we want equality then lets start at recruitment, We will set the bar for the men and throw out everyone that can not do it. We will not lower standards for women. All recruits will be trained for infantry. Placement in the marines will be based on what they can do. This sounds fair and I’m all for it. This would be the only way I could except these changes.

Good news, but it’s a easy ban to bypass. If a unit really wants a specific female soldier on staff, it can be done faster than Leon Panetta ordering a sandwich.

As long as the qualifications remain standard, okay, sure.

But is this signalling something else? It certainly does put more boots on the ground…

It was talked about having women in the infantry 20 years ago when I served. They gathered us all in a room and anyone who dared say they were against it was quickly singled out and shamed. I was one of those against it. Well I wasn’t totally against. My reasons for being against it where these:
- The physical standards for women were then, and apparently still are, less than physical standards expected of men. However, if a woman can meet the physical standards of her male counterparts and can pull on her own weight, then by all means put a 60 in her hands and 500 rounds of ammo on her back and get after it.
- The hygiene for women is not the same for men. In the field we didn’t have tents, showers, and luxuries of those in the support groups. We got a bucket of water, stripped down, and cleaned the worse spots. But hey, I suppose the bucked will work for women too.
- Most of the barracks and rooms in the infantry are not co-ed. Many are 3 man dorms. So unless there are other women in the same unit I guess segregation is back. I suppose it would be nice to have your own room.
Look I’m not chauvinist. Right now we got 1000’s of young men, many straight out of high school, sent away to fight. Stress and fatigue is a high and they’ve not seen their girlfriends or wives in months if they even have one. And now they’re going to put a woman right in the middle of them all. I think it’s a really, really bad idea and will only add to the stress.
Well I’m sure I’m not going to be changing anyone’s mind. So I’d like to leave on this note. When they do get to the point of sending women into the infantry I hope they make sure there are at least 2 or more women in the same platoon. That way there is someone to watch their back.

If genders were equal, the women would have to meet the same PT standards as men.

Very progressive; and very stupid.

Women have already been serving in combat in the military forces of many of our allies such as Israel, Great Britain, France, Germany, Australia, and many other nations, and they have done extremely well and have excelled. I expect that they will do well in the U.S. Military as well. As for being risks or detrimental to readiness or preparedness, 1) The Joint Chiefs would not have given their endorsement if that were so, and 2)Men, you need to get over yourselves. As I said women have served in combat in the armies of other nations, your “common sense logic” as you call it is based on myth and not Science Fact. We have an all volunteer military, if you don’t want your sister, daughter, niece, girlfriend, or wife to serve in combat, talk her out of volunteering for the military in the first place. As a teacher and U.S. Navy Veteran, I have had to face the facts that my students ask me for post-High School recommendations all the time, and whether or not I want to write recommendations for students who want to go in the military. In the end, they will volunteer with or without my recommendation. I applaud their patriotism and support them. If a women wants to serve in combat and is able, then I support that. Just as the end of DADT did not result in special allowances for gay men and lesbian women to have sex on base or on ships (it’s against standards of conduct of good order and discipline and is punished), women in combat will not result in lowering of standards either. Military Commanders know what they are doing even if their civilian, political masters sometimes do not.