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 ...
Great post. My son is currently in TBS at Quantico. I hope I have given him enough foundation to deal with all the bullshit.
He did a term in the Reserves - only one deployment. Was Field Radio Operator.
OK with me!
Ah, TBS...The Basic School.
“Two weeks of intensive study crammed into 6 months.”
Actually, I appreciated TBS. I was part of the group headed to Pensacola after TBS, but after having been an enlisted grunt in Vietnam, TBS meant something.
Especially after Mrs BN & I made our formal “social call” to the XO and his lady. He had flown the RF-8 Crusader photo missions over Cuba during the Missile Crisis. He gave me the “benevolent Dutch uncle” lecture about paying attention in TBS, even though I would be heading to Flight School.
He told of his tour on Vietnam as the Operations Officer (G-3) for the 3rd Marine Division, in combat, and how he had two regimental G-3s working under him who were pilots, plus two rifle company commanders, in the bush, who were also pilots.
“Pay attention! Every Marine is a Rifleman and every Marine lieutenant is a Rifle Platoon commander.”
Ooooh Rah!, and Semper Fi!
BTW, I checked your “About Me” page. It looks like you have given your son an excellent foundation. We NEED men like him in the Corps!
I love to hear the stories that Marines have to tell. When I told a Marine friend at work that Ben had enlisted, he said to me, “You are part of the family now. You will find out what that means.”
I generally do not join groups - though I did have a thread on Leatherneck.com that ran through his recruit training. That helped me a lot to deal with the anxiety I had.
Some people on this board say that patriots should abandon the military. I am proud of the choice my son made. When I asked him why the Marines instead of an “easier” path, he said two things.
“I want to serve my country.”
I want to be the best.”
All the weight is tearing up the ladies lower limbs. Even in the USAF you see a lot of airman walking around in sneakers because their feet are getting torn up.
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