102nd Military Intelligence Battalion
Posted on 01/05/2017 6:21:38 PM PST by Chode
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) — For the first time, the Marine Corps has put three enlisted female Marines in a ground combat unit once open only to men, officials said Thursday.
They will serve as a rifleman, machine gunner and mortar Marine, said 1st Lt. John McCombs, spokesman for the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejuene.
They report Thursday to the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, which has had three female officers in its ranks for several months to help integrate the enlisted females into the unit, McCombs said. The women's names and ranks were not released.
"This process ensures the Marine Corps will adhere to its standards and will continue its emphasis on combat readiness," McCombs said in an email.
Their entry in the unit marks ongoing efforts to comply with Defense Secretary Ash Carter's directive in December 2015 to open all military jobs to women, including the most dangerous commando posts.
That decision was formal recognition of the thousands of female servicewomen who fought in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars in recent years, including those who were killed or wounded.
Carter's decision also stood as a rebuff to the Marine Corps, which was the only service branch to ask for an exception to women serving in certain infantry and combat slots.
The Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Operations Command all said they would not seek any exceptions and would recommend removing the ban on women in dangerous combat jobs.
In June, six months after Carter's move, The Associated Press reported the Marine Corps had seven female officers either serving in combat posts or waiting in line to serve, and 167 women with noncombat jobs in front-line units.
There are about 40,000 Marines in the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force.
Just checked on Israeli experience with females in combat..Not good, women injured at higher rates, and more serious injuries—relates to different body types between male and female.
3% only in combat roles.
No, not anymore.
Naaa, she will end up with the little wooden case for the sight.
(I guess these days it is probably a carbon fiber case?)
I taught myself Cyrillic and some basic Russian back during the Cold War. It led to some amusing misunderstandings, I might be a little slow at shifting gears from one language to another. :-)
2DIV=Korea, right? ‘Buffalo Punch’? :-)
Well, as far as Obama is concerned, women are just as strong as him.
A little "Freudian slip", there?
Definitely bad for MORALE, and I imagine that this will also cause a few MORAL problems as well.
102nd Military Intelligence Battalion
St. Valentine (d. 273) was tortured for disobeying Emperor Claudius, since Valentine rejected that only single men should be soldiers. He knew that married men make good soldiers, since they wish to defend both their country and family. Fools in US Federal government today are ignorant of history. Women in combat? Sounds suspicious. I enjoy learning from FR comments.
I always like my old SGM’s ides.
Have an All Female Airborne Ready Reaction Brigade. 4 maneuver battalions.
Keep them in separate barracks, and observing the Dominant Female Menstrual Cycle Syndrome, have one battalion always in PMS.
That way, any tin horn dictator that messes with us gets 250 well armed, well trained, kick ass soldiers up his arse .... all in the Black Week!
Not a pretty sight. Any battle over in 72 hours!
Sickening. A terrible day for the Corps. A true slap in the face.
As such, when women are indeed serving in a de facto combat role, they should certainly be recognized for having done so. There certainly shouldn't be semantic games being played.
Women who serve well under combat conditions deserve every bit of recognition that any male soldier would merit for doing the same duty and actions.
I'm reminded of the real woman behind the "Molly Pitcher" Legend from the Battle of Monmouth in the American Revolution. If I'm not mistaken, this woman was, later in life, granted honorary rank, as well as a modest but very real military pension, for having served during the war in an artillerist's role...
You have to learn to have an affection for misery, even while bitching about it.
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Great line....
We had to destroy the village in order to save it.(sic)
I really am not a fan of Women in Combat BUT if they pass all the tests honestly and no alterations, let em go.
Like ‘they’ used to tell the gays when they wanted to get married...
“Let them— no sense them not being as miserable as any other married couple”
And yet there are some trolls and FReepers who believe this is a great idea...
“not a fan of Women in Combat BUT if they pass all the tests honestly and no alterations, let em go.”
Absolutely not. Its much more than can they pass a test. It isn’t about them as an individual. It is about the UNIT. Fair or not, their very presence degrades the units efficiency and morale.
They do not belong in the USMC infantry.
How many fine Marines will die covering their asses...?
in my eight years as an 11C 60mm were always humped and the 81mm always had a vehicle (M113 APC or HMMV)
I remember standing in a bomb crater with a couple of feet of water in it, taking a bath.
I was stark naked except for my helmet, flak jacket and boots. My buddy was providing security in case any VC decided to interrupt my ablutions.
Sometimes, you just GOT to get clean!
How this going to work in a coed unit?
(I’d say that SecDef Carter is an idiot, but even an idiot would know better than to force the “face to face” combat units to integrate women. This is pure evil!)
I just looked him up. How in hell does a college professor become Secretary of Defense ?!
hmmm. I wonder what happened to these 3 ? (or are these 3 those 3?)
I believe the Army actually tried this in the late 80’s with a number of gals attached to an Infantry unit as I recall that went to Panama after Noriega. I also seem to remember that they all were discharged for medical reasons. I saw an interview with one of them and she complained about ever- increasing weight that had to be carried in a combat situation led to a breakdown of her hips.
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