women and the marines...

[billc]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/30/us/marines-test-women-for-infantry-roles.html?_r=1&

Behind them, two moreMarines, both women, prepared to start the course. One, a former enlisted Marine who was shivering in the 40-degree breeze, tried repeatedly to surmount the first bar, but failed. The second, a recent Naval Academy graduate, did better, meticulously, sometimes ingeniously, working her way through many of the obstacles.
But as she was determinedly attempting the ropes, a captain walked briskly up to deliver bad news: Neither woman had met a time limit. Silently, they shouldered their packs and trudged into the woods, their chances of becoming the first women to complete the Marine Corps’ demanding Infantry Officer Course summarily ended on its arduous first day on Thursday. (Twelve of the 108 men also were dropped that day.)
And that closed the latest chapter in the effort to integrate women into Marine Corps ground combat units, a sweeping change ordered by the former secretary of defense, Leon E. Panetta, in January when he lifted a 1994 banon women serving in direct combat.
The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James F. Amos, has said he is confident that women can begin joining some combat jobs, including in tank and artillery units, by early next year. But with infantry — the foot warriors who since ancient times have been called upon to march across hills and deserts, carry heavy weight and bear the brunt of fighting and death — the corps is proceeding with much caution.
General Amos has said he will use the Infantry Officer Course to study how women handle the rigors of infantry training, hoping to observe 92 volunteers by 2016, when the corps must make recommendations on whether women can join the infantry. (Reaching 92 may be hard, however: the corps produces only 156 female officers a year, and only about one in 10 have volunteered to attend the course, so far, though Marine Corps officials say they expect the number to rise.)

 

[Sukerkin]

An interesting read. I liked a couple of points particularly. One was a matter of practicality in that the tests weren't hard just for the sake of being hard, they were hard because that is what the officers would be expected to be able to do. The other was philosophical in that the Marine officers had to accept that it was their men that would be carrying the burden of most of the killing (and implicitly dying too) in operational engagements - I especially liked the phrase "the last 600 yards of diplomacy".

 

[Carol]

What really stuck out with me was the notation that young women need to prepare for such a thing in high school. I'd wager that Junior High would be even better.

This would have never been me. I don't have that physical gift. My niece on the other hand was raised on a farm in North Carolina. My sister and her husband sold their cattle when my niece and nephew were very young and to focus on agriculture. When my niece was in middle school she wanted to to learn more about animals so she started helping out at the farms of family friends and volunteering once a week at a local vet. She started raising thoroughbreds when she was in junior high...not because my sister and brother-in-law would have money, but because through the vet's office she would meet people that couldn't take care of their horses anymore and were willing to give them away. Living on a farm meant that they had space for a horse. Horse became horses, and in high school my niece's equestrian talents were so good she had won summer scholarships to horse studies programs in Austrailia (!!). On top of that, she joined the JROTC for 3+ years. She joined ARNG while still in high school, drilling on selected weekends.

I knew she loved her horses and her JROTC training, but I didn't quite realize how good of an equestrienne she was until I had slipped in to her room one holiday to change in to a dress for a family dinner. She had an entire wall of her room covered...from floor to ceiling...with ribbons and medals she had one from various competitions. 80 percent of those awards were either a blue ribbon or gold medal, signifying first place. My jaw was on the floor. These are awards for working a 1000-pound animal, with a mind of its own, in all kinds of weather, in weight classes that are tighter and stricter than those faced by prize fighters.

So, when it came time for her to go to Basic Training, she blew the bloody roof off the place, graduated with honors and said Basic "wasn't so bad", and her Australia summer school with the horses was "usually harder". She started her service as an Pfc (E-3), was accepted for her MOS of choice and went off to AIT...all before turning 18. She decided she hated her initial MOS and wanted to be an MP instead. Got accepted to MP school, and once again, aced it. She got promoted to sergeant just before turning 21, and is now serving as an MP in Afghanistan. Unlike the movies, MPs do a helluva lot more than riding around barracks on a motorcycle keeping the peace, they are trained to blow up a lot of stuff in a lot of unpleasant situations.

Make no mistake, this was not a girl who spent her high school days chewing gum and gossiping.

I don't know how she would do on the same exam the other recruits faced. But I'd wager to say that she'd have a fighting chance of making acceptable marks. And I am sure there are other women out there as well who can. They may not be the norm, but "not normal" does not mean non-existent.

 

[granfire]

A lady on a horse related forum is very proud of her daughter, after years of cheerleading she had a similar experience joining.
you can't just up and go at it, you have to have it ingrained I suppose.

 

[arnisador]

As long as these requirements are germane to combat--as seems to be here--let the chips fall where they may.

 

[billc]

let the chips fall where they may.

As long as the standards are the same, time will tell if this will work...as long as the politicians don't stick their noses into the standards...

 

[shesulsa]

We have adapted to many, many changes. We will again.

 

[oftheherd1]

As long as these requirements are germane to combat--as seems to be here--let the chips fall where they may.

It isn't easy, and it isn't intended to be. The Marines get some unique assingments, and their leaders need to be up to certain standards, especially the infantry MOS. I have no doubt some women will pass at some not too distant point in the future. Good on them when they do.