Posted on 07/07/2014 6:32:11 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The challenge for the Marines, and for the Army, is how to open up ground combat jobs to women in January 2016, without lowering standards.
And here's where things stand in the Marines.
Eighty-five female Marines already made it through an infantry training course last fall at Camp Lejeune, N.C., which included drills such as attacking a mock enemy force, hidden in a pine forest. That course lasted eight weeks, and the men and women all completed the same training.
Now the Marines have a more ambitious plan that will take a new group of volunteers from the deserts to the beaches to the mountains during the next year.
More than 160 women will be taking part in a training exercise that will start this summer that will stretch well into next year. It will include simulated combat exercises in the Mojave Desert, Pacific Coast beaches and the Sierra Nevada mountains.
The Marines will march with 100-pound packs, mount an attack that will include tanks, then dig a defensive position. They'll practice pulling a wounded Marine to safety. They'll crawl over obstacles. Climb mountains and cliffs....
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
where are the feminists demanding infantry and marines must be 51% female to match the population %?
it all makes no sense these huge weights - what are they trying to tell us? The women can handle anything even if they shouldn’t have to, nor should the men - it’s all insane.
My wife is combat ready. We fight every day. (padum dump!)
No, you’re wrong. Weakening the military is just a byproduct. The real goalis change — radical social transformation. It’s what Obama promised, and what he’s delivering. I don’t know why everyone’s so surprised.
No I'm right.
The “change” that the Obama Administration wants is to change America from the wealthiest most powerful country in the world into a weak, backward third world dictatorship. Obama is not pressuring his friends in the Muslim Brotherhood or other radical Muslim terrorists to change how they treat women.
Obama only wants to impose “change” such as rules of engagement that guarantee American servicemen are killed and lowering the standards in the military on Americans.
Obama’s only goal is to weaken and destroy America.
When are women age 19 - 25 going to be required to register for Selective Service at the post office like young men are currently required to do?
Are you saying that carrying a 55 to 100lb pack is not necessary? If so, what is your reasoning?
BTW, In Vietnam my pack at the beginning of an operation usually weighed 65 to 95lbs. The lighter weights were when we were in the mountains.
Instead of carrying a weeks worth of two meals per day we only carried one meal per day and sometimes omitted the helmet and the spare radio battery for a one week patrol. Also left shaving gear, etc back at base camp, just to get the weight down.
After 'Nam while on a training exercise in mountains of Korea, the three enlisted radio operators on my Forward Air Controller team carried packs of 105# to 110#. The "little guy (5' 7", 135#) had the lightest. My pack was 115#. I was 5'8", 160# at the time.
Our packs had 50# lbs of radios & spare batteries, chow, water, helmet & flak jacket, weapons (no ammo or frags, which would have added 12-15 lbs, minimum), sleeping bag, rain pancho, cold weather gear plus a dry change of clothing.
I am not saying that - it might be necessary to be able to drag or carry a 200# injured soldier. I don’t believe that 99% of the women can do that or 55 or 100 pounds, and that means they aren’t doing what the men can do and need to do.
From what I have read on the subject that is all they will find. A few.
Women have a role in the armed forces. It's just not in the front lines.
Sorry, I understood it as you were saying that the the men did not need to carry 55 to 100lb packs.
no problem - I can confuse myself sometimes ;)
That was the Marine Corps Infantry Officers Course. No females have passed it yet.
How much is this social experiment costing the tax payers? How much is it effecting budgets and readiness?
Were you a Marine, you didn’t say. I can see where a forward air post would be humping some major gear. But for some assault personnel to be humping that much gear is idiotic. No doubt the prc-25 and antenna was a heavy piece of equipment. I worked on a backpack radio switch for the prc-117, (not that much lighter believe me) for normal and satellite comm function. 100 prototypes partially assembled in my kitchen for the war in Irag and Afghanistan (forward air control). I took my job seriously when I was last working, no thanks to defense cutbacks under the “won”
But for some assault personnel to be humping that much gear is idiotic.
They have to eat, drink water, carry weapon(s), ammo, etc. Your load is divided into assault items and everyday life items. When you get to the Line of Departure to begin the Assault Phase, you drop the everyday life items and make the assault with your fighting load - weapons & ammo & comm gear.
We had one operation where resupply was not possible for almost two weeks (our company was on patrol and engaged with an NVA battalion). We normally carried a week's worth of meals, but had cut down to one meal a day then finally ran out of food. I was a radio operator and rarely fired my M-16 (I rated a .45, but I preferred to "reach out...way out, and touch someone"). However, I humped 500 rounds of ammo. This particular Op I was down to 120 rounds when it became necessary to share with my buddies. It is no fun getting low on ammo.
I carried the PRC-25, spares (battery, handset & antenna). My job was to communicate, no matter what. Assistant machine gunners carried one or two boxes of gun ammo. Regular grunts in a fire team often carried 60mm mortar ammo or LAAWs in addition to their own gear.
There is a reason they call us "Grunts".
I’ve been to 29 Palms (Mojave desert) in both winter and summer. It is VERY unforgiving! The intense heat and bitter cold will not care if one is a man or woman.
Remember the oath is to “support and defend the Constitution” not the President.
Semper Fi, my time in the Corps was ‘70-’74. The only thing I ever humped was comm/nav gear for phantoms and intruders. Pretty funny, we were both radio men. My last CO had spent 7 years as a pow. Captain Marvel (what a heroic name) was only promoted two ranks to light colonel for all that time spent. Seems like Marines sure had to earn their rank.
Marines usually have to earn everything. To my way of thinking, your CO more than earned his two grade promotion and then some.
I crawled out of a tunnel one day to see spit-shined jungle boots, a white head of hair and three stars on each shoulder. It was Army Lt. General Stilwell, XXIV US Army Corps Commander.
"How's it going, son? I think you men are doing a wonderful job in these tunnels, I'm going to see that you all make sergeant and get a Bronze Star!" (The four of us were all PFCs and L/Cpls at the time) Naturally, that was the last we saw of Gen. Stilwell or heard of any promotion or Bronze Star. Things work differently in the Army, I guess. The Corps figured what we did was worth a Navy Achievement, though, so I was grateful for that.
Tagable... OK with you?
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