Posted on 01/02/2014 1:58:35 PM PST by thetallguy24
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.
Although no new timetable has been set on the delayed physical requirement, 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," Capt. Maureen Krebs, a Marine spokeswoman, said Thursday.
Starting with the new year, 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. The requirement was tested in 2013 on female recruits at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., but only 45 percent of women met the minimum, Krebs said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
If I were a female who had enlisted in the USMC, I would be sure I could do plenty of pull-ups before ever arriving at boot camp. Seems like it would make life much easier.
Police & Fire already knew this.
I guess they haven’t been keeping up with the times.
We are all supposed to pretend that there is nothing a man can do that a woman can’t do.
And nothing a wonman can do that a gay boy can’t do.
There is no room for objective fact and actual results in Obama-Land.
Pullups? Had infantry combat training in 1944. Had to walk/run 20 miles with full field pack, rifle, steel helmet in combat boots but no pullups. It was legs and endurance.
The attempt to offer ‘equality’ in the military by allowing female recruits to train for and serve in combat is running head-on into the reality that military combat requires a level of muscle strength that many females simply do not have due to the difference in body structure. Duh! I suspect that most young men seeking to enter the Marine Corps could accomplish three pullups. The military, now run by PC types, will find ‘alternative’ tests (that females can pass) to justify their acceptance into combat training. This likely won’t end well for the military or the women involved.
The respective branches of the U.S. military encourage getting into shape prior to going to basic training. I’m trying to remember the source, but I read that the USMC encouraged recruits to start weight training prior to going off the Parris Island, or San Diego. I for one lost 40 pounds before I went to Lackland for basic, lot of cardio and marching with the 65 pound ruck.
Hey just lower the standards for the poor dears...its more important they they FEEL like real Marines...who cares that a lack of upper body strength might mean they can’t help the injured out of danger...
Lowering standards worked so well in the public schools...didn’t it?
/s
In the 70s, it was slightly more than 20 miles, but we also had a PT test that included situps, pushups and a few other gyrations.
Everything else was ok, but the mile run almost killed me.
“...the process of equalizing physical standards to integrate women into combat jobs.”
Are there not objective dangers that demand a certain level of strength to defeat them?!
“Pullups? Had infantry combat training in 1944. Had to walk/run 20 miles with full field pack, rifle, steel helmet in combat boots but no pullups. It was legs and endurance.”
From US Army WWII Fitness Manual ....
TEST 1: PULLUPS
This event requires a horizontal bar. This may be made of a pipe or gymnasium horizontal bar, or other rigid horizontal support which is not over 1½ inches in diameter. The bar should be high enough to permit the performer to hang at full length without touching the ground. A height of 7 feet, 9 inches to 8 feet is recommended.
Starting Position. Hanging at full length from the bar with arms straight. The forward grasp is used with the palms turned away from the face.
Pullup
Movement. Pull up until the chin is above the level of the bar. Then lower the body until elbows are completely straight. Continue for as many repetitions as possible.
Instructions. The men should be told that it is permissible to raise the legs and flex the hips when pulling up but not to kick or execute a jerking motion with trunk or legs. The body must be kept from swinging. The chin must be raised above the bar. The arms must be completely straight at the bottom of the movement.
Administration and Scoring. Each time the performer pulls his chin above the bar in correct form, he is given credit for one pullup. He is not credited with a pullup if he fails to raise his chin above the level of the bar or if he stops to rest. If the performer does not straighten his arms at the bottom of a movement, if he kicks or jerks, only half a pullup will be counted. If there are four half-pullups, the performer should be stopped and retested later. If the performer starts to swing, the judge should stop the swinging with his hands. Some such aid as a resin-bag or a cake of magnesium carbonate should be available to prevent the hands from slipping.
Don’t you love outcome based education for Marines? lol
Interesting. Do you think the manual means that if you couldn’t pass the PT, you would not be sent to combat duty?
"Pullups?? That's like ... WORK!"
20 is excellant, 6 is poor but it doesn’t say what is pass/fail. I suspect it is based on a ‘sum’ of the eight required tests.
When I was in basic training in the late 50s we had to do 12 pull-ups in good form before we got breakfast.
Probably some failed the test but I cannot recall seeing many not do it. Hunger does that to a man.
They will now start lowering the standards.
A series of my son’s friends went into USMC over a period of about a year and a half or so, five altogether. The fifth one in was the star of his recruit class, due to he had taken all of the advice the other four had for him before boot camp.
I was a very good athlete in college. I don’t remember how many pull ups I could do but it was probably over 20.
A few years after I got married and put on a few pounds, my wife and I were in a park and I noticed a chin up bar. I grabbed it, relaxed and then tried to do a pull up.
To my everlasting irritation, I could not do one.
“A few years after I got married and put on a few pounds, my wife and I were in a park and I noticed a chin up bar. I grabbed it, relaxed and then tried to do a pull up.”
Just wait till you go to the park with the grandkids ....
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