Posted on 05/16/2012 9:12:40 PM PDT by Publius804
WASHINGTON — Army leaders have begun to study the prospect of sending female soldiers to the service's prestigious Ranger school — another step in the effort to broaden opportunities for women in the military.
Gen. Raymond Odierno, Army chief of staff, said Wednesday that he's asked senior commanders to provide him with recommendations and a plan this summer. And while he stressed that no decisions have been made, he suggested that Ranger school may be a logical next step for women as they move into more jobs closer to the combat lines.
"If we determine that we're going to allow women to go in the infantry and be successful, they are probably at some time going to have to go through Ranger school," Odierno told reporters. "If we decide to do this, we want the women to be successful."
According to Odierno, about 90 percent of senior Army infantry officers have gone to the school and are qualified as Rangers. Allowing women to go to Ranger school, he said, would allow them to be competitive with their male counterparts as they move through the ranks.
Going to Ranger school, however, does not automatically mean women would be allowed to serve in one of the Army's three elite Ranger battalions, which are Army special operations forces. In fact, many male soldiers who wear the coveted Ranger tab on their uniforms never actually serve in one of the three battalions.
Currently, women are not allowed to serve in special operations, infantry or armor forces, which are considered the most dangerous combat jobs. They are, however, allowed to serve in a number of support jobs such as medics, military police and intelligence officers that are sometimes attached to combat brigades.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
Yep. Soon you will have replies that so and so’s daughter joined the Army and did such and such and beat ALL the men blah blah blah.
Nope, nope, and nope.
I heard our idiotic COC speaking to grads at a female college- telling them they could all be combatant commanders-and I almost threw up.
What the HELL? Very few women can do their job in the military. Even if they are good at their job. My friend is deploying to AFG in a few months- surprise- and she just gained custody of her kids. Because she will be training and gone so much before the deployment, she has to get a full time nanny to live with her kids. And then her ex will probably get full custody back while she deploys. She is a mess right now.
I respect her service, but wouldn’t want to be in her shoes.
And everybody who has served in Combat Arms or supporting Combat Arms knows that very few females Soldiers can actually meet standards- especially over a long time, as they have kids, etc.
It’s so dangerous that our culture believes that the 5’5”, 135 lb physically fit female Soldier can take on the 5’7” 165 lb physically fit male Soldier. Yeah, sure she can. Just like Buffy the Vampire Slayer beat up all those vampires.
And I am a former female Soldier, and I have deployed. I am married to a current Active Duty Soldier for 20 plus years.
Thank you, all female vets and currently serving female Soldiers. But please don’t take up the slots at Ranger school.
This makes sense to me if there are sensitive female roles for which Ranger-level training is necessary or desirable. I could imagine having a trained native Arabic or Farsi speaking woman or two of Middle Eastern descent could be handy on a mission here or there.
That’s not what I’m hearing them talk about—and talking about what I’m referring to may not be a good idea either.
The obvious solution is to de-emphasize Ranger training as a criteria for promotion to field grade. If 90 percent of the officers above a certain rank have undergone Ranger training, then this is an indication to me that the Ranger ‘school’ is too large and training too many officers who will never serve with or command Rangers.
You know that ain’t gonna happen. They will either lower the requirements or have special provisions for the manly women.
I’m not a “spring chicken” any longer but I’ll bet I can do more physical lifting than any female that graduates from the new “sissy” ranger camp that will be established to ensure the women can pass the test.
I just can’t help but wonder how many male troops have been killed simply due to the lack of physical (and emotional) strength of women in combat roles and their inability to actually “fight like a man.”
The sad fact is that the truth will never be known.
The Army lowered standards at Airborne School so that more women could pass. I got my wings in November '76, and the black hats were ordered to lay off the women. Young officers like myself were singled out for extra pushups during Ground Week.
It was no big thing...only lasted 3 weeks total.
About a third of my ROTC class made it through Ranger School. They were all excellent athletes, and knew small unit infantry tactics through and through.
If the Army can find a woman that can meet the current standards, so be it. Color me very skeptical that any woman can survive Ranger School in its current form.
BTW ... From one vet to another ... Thank you for your service
assuming there are some gals that could hack it, are they going to have to register for the draft as well?
until that happens, they’ll never be “equal”.
The Army isn’t the only one who fudges stats and forces women who arent qualified through. I was in the Navy while the brass were shoving through unqualified aviators through carrier quals. It was an unmitigated disaster and the brass knew it but they were intent on seeing the first women to qualify for carrier landings out in the fleet. The political brass does not care about readiness. You only have to look as far as women serving on subs. It’s the worst idea out there but it is happening.
I would never, EVER serve in today’s military. And, god willing, neither will any of my kids.
Kara Hultgren.
Repeatedly failed qualifications, but was pushed forward and onto carriers and into an F-14. She flamed an engine on approach, over-corrected and killed herself and damn near killed her back-seater.
The Navy went through the unprecedented task of recovering the aircraft, trying to blame the aircraft, and then rigging the analysis when it all pointed to pilot error.
Already, two or three of the first female submariners have been charged with fraud.
Myself, I never finished a co-ed march where I wasn’t carrying some female soldier’s gear, helmet and even her rifle. Females can make a real contribution, but not through lowered standards.
Thank you! And thanks back to you, for your service.
I know tons of women serving in the military. Many are fit and strong.
But the strength needed for Combat Arms MOSs eludes them. Really. I was attached to a combat unit as a medic, and I did my job- but there was NO WAY I could physically support or match a man. I was very very fit and passed my PT test with ease. Being physically fit does not equal the strength and mental toughness Rangers, Spec Ops, Delta, Infantry, etc, need to do their job. It is laughable that anybody thinks women are capable of such strength.
In addition, the number one reason female Soldiers are medically evacuated from overseas deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan is for MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS. Really.
About 15% of all women medically evacuated had mental disorders, vs about 3% for injuries or battle wounds.
I am a woman, and I feel like a traitor to my sex, but I know the truth.
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