You must have misunderstand my point. If you thought I was saying women can do everything men can do, I don't believe that — not at all.
I'm quite aware of the difference in PT test scoring for men and women, as well as for different ages with both genders.
Also, my point was **NOT** that women can do everything in the military. The Army and Marine Corps have especially good reasons for saying women don't qualify for some MOSes. Even with an Air Force combat pilot, there's a huge difference between being a USAF combat pilot and being in ground combat as a soldier or Marine.
I strongly believe 1) that there are some duties virtually no women can do — and I say “virtually no women” rather than “no women” only because there may be a one-in-100,000 exception case of a female bodybuilder who would meet standards, 2) that there are other duties women should not do as a matter of policy, and 3) that very few women want to do or are able to do most military duties in any case.
My point was not that I want to see women in the infantry. That's crazy.
My point was women who want to do so and are able to do so should be able to serve in the military.
That's what's coming. See Martha "Jimmy-kicker" McSally's very well-thought out remarks on the issue.
My point was women who want to do so and are able to do so should be able to serve in the military.
They already can do that. There are age limits but those are obviously waiverable if you go high enough up the chain.
I've worked with many female Soldiers. Some are dirtbags, some are high-speed--not real different from their male counterparts.
However....
Physically, they are held to lower standards. Pregnant Soldiers are treated like porcelain dolls. They are very distracting to the combat arms units.
With homosexuals added to the mix, it makes the whole thing that much more drama-prone. I should know, I saw it every day in the Brigade TOC in Afghanistan. I longed to go back to an Infantry Company after that experience.