Posted on 01/04/2014 2:41:29 PM PST by nickcarraway
More than half of female Marines in boot camp can't do three pullups, the minimum standard that was supposed to take effect with the new year, prompting the Marine Corps to delay the requirement, part of the process of equalizing physical standards to integrate women into combat jobs.
The delay rekindled sharp debate in the military on the question of whether women have the physical strength for some military jobs, as service branches move toward opening thousands of combat roles to them in 2016. Beginning this week, all female Marines were supposed to be able to do at least three pullups on their annual physical fitness test and eight for a perfect score. Men have the same minimum requirement but need 20 for a perfect score. The previous minimum standard for women was a timed flexed-arm hang. The new requirement was tested on female recruits at Parris Island last year but only 45 percent of women could do even three.
Now, some might say that this proves women aren’t strong. Hogwash. Women are very strong. To give just one important example, more than 100 million women give birth each and every year. It is an impressive feat of strength. Women also nurse their babies, which is fraught with problems ranging from mastitis to thrush. Women display physical strength in many ways, from athletic prowess to working jobs requiring them to be on their feet all day.
And it doesn’t prove that men are physically superior in every way. To given just one unimportant example, some large percentage of men have such a hard time dealing with the common cold that fantastic comedy sketches are written about it. (“For God’s sake, woman, he’s a man, he’s got a man cold!”)
But to state the obvious, by which I mean I’m about to say something extremely controversial, the average female is not as strong in the upper-body region as the average man. (Again: Please don’t demand I be written out of polite society for noting this truth that was universally acknowledged until roughly 15 minutes ago.) Even at my Crossfit gym, which is full of freakishly strong humans of both sexes, the men routinely outperform the women. And one of the things I love about my gym is that everyone is simply encouraged to do their work to the best of their ability.
So the problem with the fact that most female Marine recruits aren’t meeting even the minimum requirement for upper-body strength isn’t that women aren’t strong. In fact, the problem is not even that men and women have different physical strengths.
The problem is that we are all supposed to pretend that men and women are identical. It doesn’t help men, women, children or the institutions they inhabit to pretend natural differences don’t exist. And here, it’s actually dangerous. We may have forgotten in our rush to drone warfare what actual combat entails. It’s grueling and requires tremendous physical and mental strength and discipline.
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos wants training officials to “continue to gather data and ensure that female Marines are provided with the best opportunity to succeed,” according to a statement from the Marines. The Associated Press then goes on to characterize the truth that “pullups require the muscular strength necessary to perform common military tasks such as scaling a wall, climbing up a rope or lifting and carrying heavy munitions” simply as a “belief” held by the Marine Corps. I wonder where they got that crazy idea. I mean, I can’t scale a wall or climb a rope but I’ve noticed that everyone at my gym who can do these things can also do a pullup. Or 20 pullups. One can read these statements and the backtracking on pullup requirements as a precursor to watering down the skills required to be effective in a Marine combat situation. The story states that if the military decides to keep some positions closed to women, they must explain why.
Success for women should not mean being viewed, contrary to reality, as interchangeable with men in all things. Men and women are both strong but strong in very different ways, both of which contribute mightily to human flourishing.
The article is quite comical. Apparently the author thinks dealing with pain makes one strong. All this time I’ve been using intelligent programming in the gym with progressive overload. From now on, I’ll just bash my shins and junk, then call it a day.
“Childbirth has nothing to do with battlefield survival.”
I know, that was such a stupid thing to say. OK, so no men can be birth mothers....but we knew that!
And the breastfeeding? It may need some physical stamina (I gave it up PDQ, my child was not getting enough nourishment and I hated it) but “strength” no.
Good lord.
Did any of you people READ the article past the second paragraph?
She’s on our side, for pete’s sake. She’s saying that men and women are different, and are physically strong in different ways.
The money quote, for those of you who can’t be bothered to read past the headline:
“The Associated Press then goes on to characterize the truth that “pullups require the muscular strength necessary to perform common military tasks such as scaling a wall, climbing up a rope or lifting and carrying heavy munitions” simply as a “belief” held by the Marine Corps. I wonder where they got that crazy idea. I mean, I can’t scale a wall or climb a rope but I’ve noticed that everyone at my gym who can do these things can also do a pullup. Or 20 pullups.”
If they put her in the ring with a male pro boxer/fighter/MMA, she’d be killed....
Of course, then they’d really wanna ban the sport as it would make them all liars and idiots.
The AP nailed it—In modern warfare, fought from computer terminals, it’s ridiculous to assume that Marines will ever have to scale walls, climb ropes, or lift and carry heavy munitions.
It’s all a misogynistic plot.
bttt
lol...
This is just silly. Even if a woman could do three pullups, that doesn’t make her strong. Three pullups is nothing for a fit man. A man who can only do three pullups is weak.
The average Marine combat load is 70+ pounds of body armor, weapons, ammo and other gear. There are virtually no women who can carry that weight and then perform to even minimal combat standards. If there are more than a handful in the Corps who could do so without quickly sustaining serious injury, let alone do so while picking up and carrying a wounded soldier any amount of distance, I’d be shocked.
Let’s just make all female Marines Generals when the take the Oath before they even begin Basic Training. Problem solved.
No, it just means that in combat they aren’t near as good as men.
Cindy grab Jim...Can't...too heavy.
Never mind Cindy. I'll carry Jim and Joe and the ammo. Just grab the coffee pot...
Look, we see woman on TV and in the movies throwing men twice their size around like rag dolls...
We’ve learned from Hollywood, most men are bed wetting fat wimps with IQ’s of dumb puppies...
So there ya have it.
Just imagine the war applications there!
I'm not getting anything.
Right. That was her point.
rationalizing failure
You suck.
I LOVE women. I am a heterosexual 66 year old man.
I am glad I am a man.
I would hate to go through a monthly menstruation cycle, with accompanying cramps and bleeding. I wouldn't want to share a tent or foxhole with one that is going through that.
When a man and a woman have that first time "in the sack", it is the woman that experiences pain and discomfort, and we men can just lay back and think how great it was. I wouldn't want the temptation around me on the battlefield.
I doubt I could withstand the pain of childbirth. I don't like to stub my toe. I don't want my battlefield partner getting pregnant so she can go home.
I fathered four children, but the mom is the "go to" when our children have a problem and need a little nurturing. We dads are supposed to be the disciplinarians, and feared (I realize that is not a universal truth).
I would never want to rely on a woman on the battlefield. I am 5'10" and at my prime was around 165 lbs. A 110-120lb. woman could likely not remove my body, whether I am dead or alive.
I love women. My wife is now also my business partner. She can do things I can't do, and has many useful skills. BUT, she always calls on me for lifting the heavy stuff!
She shares your point of view.
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