Let me ask you this, if the military wanted to sign up a male volunteer who was a brilliant computure code breaker who's talents they could use in intelligence work to find enemy communications .... would they be smart to turn him away if he couldn't do the required number of pushups? I really doubt that they ever have done that.The military has an obligation to its members--that the members thereof are trained for and capable of self-defense AND the defense of others.
The military obliges its members, REGARDLESS of seniority, to pass certain physical tests, as well as target-shooting, etc., tests, REGULARLY.
If they want a computer engineer, they'll hire him/her as a civilian at the Pentagon.
First off, I disagree that everyone in the military has to meet the same physical standards. They do not. They have to meet SOME standards, but there do not all have to meet the same standards. Secondly you raise another interesting point. The military in recent years has been outsourcing more and more work, much of it done by private contractors and much of that done by women. So indirectly, many women are replacing military personell in jobs previosly done by enlisted military personell. This is precisely why, if we ever do have to go to a draft, it is strategically unwise to exclude women. The head of the Selective Service has noted this saying that in particular the if a draft is required they will need to have more medical personell from the private sector, and to do that it may be necessary to draft women doctors and nurses and other medical personell, a field now heavily occupied by women. The medical schools today are now closing in on 50% women. What this means strategically, and thank God our military is smart enough to think ahead a little, is that in the event a draft is ever needed, women doctors and medical people will need to be drafted. Therefore, according to him, we should go ahead and require draft registration for women, just so everything is already in place if needed. This is pure advance tactical planning, nothing more.
Note, I'm not in favor of women being drafted on the basis of "equality" or diversity. I'm simply pointing out that tactically, women will be needed simply because they are already doing many military jobs in civilian life. For example, I have done work for the military as a employee of a civilian firm. The military needs people to do jobs whether they are woman or not women. That is beside the point. There are not enough people period, let alone only male people, to fill those positions within the military(enlistment has fallen short goals every year for the past 12 years under the volunteer military). The shortfall would be even greater without women voluteers. In addition many women work in civilian positions which were formerly filled by military personell.