Posted on 06/13/2012 3:41:24 PM PDT by kingattax
The United States Army is debating whether to admit women to Ranger School, its elite training program for young combat leaders.
Proponents argue this is to remove a final impediment to the careers of Army women. But the move would erode the unique Ranger ethos and culture—not to mention the program's rigorous physical requirements—harming its core mission of cultivating leaders willing to sacrifice everything for our nation.
The Army's 75th Ranger Regiment traces its roots back to World War II, when it won acclaim for penetrating deep behind Japanese lines. Founded in 1950, Ranger School teaches combat soldiers small-unit tactics and leadership under extreme duress. It pushes men harder than any other program in the Army's curriculum.
Competition to attend the course is fierce, with about 4,000 men eligible to attend each year. Only about half graduate. Of those, only 20% make it through without having to retake various phases.
For decades, completion of Ranger School has been the best indicator for determining which young men can handle the enormous responsibility of combat leadership
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
No you don't, you carry what the mission requires, a week long, deep penetration mission during a zero degree winter will require well in excess of 150 pounds of gear per man.
You seem to have a little girls fantasy about the military, where you pick and choose your job, your missions, you fight with just a bandanna and a T-shirt with the sleeves torn off, and a trusty rifle, and you always start already at the place where you will be pulling the trigger from, or perhaps just an easy walk from it.
They operate as a team, but if I inserted one in your area, you would never see him until he had his arm around your neck with a knife at the back of your head. Don't start this again.
Easy insert, easy ‘kill’.
I feel very honored that I can say truthfully the best person I ever knew was my Mother. Many times I would say to myself, “How can she be so good, how can anyone be that kind”?
The one thing I wish God had kept from Mother is she had to endure all her family, parents brothers and sisters dying but even more my older brother died of a heart attack at age 60 and it just about killed Mother. We had to take her to the hospital and they gave her medication to calm her but still the Dr. said he blood pressure was off the charts.
There is nothing in your experience that can equate to me what their experience has taught me.
Copy this thread and send it to them, I'd be interested in their perspective on your comments. I suspect I know their reaction. A pat on your head and them telling you "you are nuts."
Well your ignorance of soldiering is profound, that is why you are not very annoying, it is so ridiculous that it is amusing more than annoying.
I can see why you never went in.
You have to have either come from (as I do) or know a military family where you can sit around and chat about these things kinda like off the wall if you know what I mean.
I've seen movies like "Kelly's Hero's" or " Hell Is For Hero's" or "A Walk In The Sun" or "Full Metal Jacket" ... guess you have too.
Gosh, well then I had better tell my military family that there’s a guy on the internet that is so knowledgeable about military lore and stuff that they should just forget about their military experience and come here to read what you have to write about. Wow.
My wife had twins, but still cringes when she sees my bloody knuckles after I have been fighting with a rusty piece of machinery.
My daughter is a pole vaulter and lives in the gym, but when when something heavy needs to be moved she gets her boyfriend (never goes to the gym) to move it.
Combat is a nasty sleep depriving grinder. It requires the ability to recuperate quickly with little to no sleep- only youth and testosterone does that.
How many female battalions have fought successfully? None, because they never existed.
Women are extremely important. They rock the cradle; which provides that emotional bond that is very much needed. They provide what men cannot do well. But they have never been able to field a fighting force.
In a pinch, a wrench can drive a nail, but a hammer will always work better.
I get it from them. Perhaps they should educate you. But then, I guess it would be a wasted effort on their part.
The only thing in this whole thread was that we’d (I’d) like to have at least tried, given the opportunity. The guys here have belittled my wanting to at least try. If I had failed so be it. But at least I tried. Not like so many other people who won’t even give it a try because in their mind they’ve already failed. My dream fantasy has always been to try out for the English SAS. I don’t care if they don’t take women, it’s just the chance to try to see how far I could go. I know guys who wouldn’t even consider the idea of trying. They’re the wimps here, not me.
Any thinking person who understands A) military history and B) male-female differences in physical ability has to agree with you.
A) is smaller than you think, and B) has been suppressed by political correctness.
Let us hope sanity prevails. With the current Administration, I expect little. Not sure about what happens with a Romney Administration.
Odd I thought that you were the freeper posting, not the veterans you know, besides your six years in the Marine Corp reserves should have educated you, but it evidently did not.
Ma’am, you may think that kind of attitude will impress guys, but guys with a mouth like yours usually find a way to have their ass beat.
Ummm - educated me as to what? One of the things I used to do was to sneak up on the guys barracks, take pictures and get back without being seen. And yes, I’m the FreePer known as Skydancer and I’ve been here since 2005. I think there’s a bit of jealousy on your part that I should have learned the guy stuff and are upset that I can outclass you in various areas.
Where to begin...
First of all enduring pain has very little to do with physical endurance. I am a terrible patient and I hate pain. When I wake up from surgery I want the morphine NOW! My wife bore our kids and she will go to work with a cold when I will stay home in bed and sleep it off. But there is no way she is physically capable of humping a heavy pack for days in the mountains with the South Korean Marines as I did in my ground tour in the Marine Corps.
And speaking of flying. Good on you for pursuing your dream and suceeding, and for beating your boyfriend with your flying skills. Unfortunately If you were to go up against a real fighter pilot you wouldn’t fare so well, not that you don’t have the basic skills to learn to be good, it sounds like you may.
I was a jet flight instructor for three years and trained Navy/Marine pilots. At the time the Marine Corps did not have female pilots, but I trained several that were in the Navy and was the Asst OPSO/STANO so reviewed all of the records. And yes, they were treated with kid gloves because there was a big push by the Navy for them to succeed and every issue was closely scrutinized by the brass. In three years most were below or slightly below average and they ALL had some sort of personal problem/confidence/self esteem issue. Only one was average and she ended up resigning just before getting her wings because of boyfriend issues. Another made it through her carrier quals by dating one of the Navy LSO instructor pilots. I wasn’t there on qual day, but the word was that everyone on the deck was in fear for their lives. Maybe all of the good ones went through Beeville/Kingsville.
Many of the men struggled also and about 15% didn’t make it through despite extensive prescreening and testing. It WAS intense and very demanding, intentionally so. The point was that without special handling not many of the females would have made it through the program. Oh, and I was named “favorite instructor” by at least one of them.
There is an actress, Kristen Kreuk, who has played in several “warrior princess” type rolls. That also includes several years on Smallville where she several times beats up big guys.
Talking to a reporter, she looked at him and said something like this: I can’t beat you up but I am very good at making it look like I could, especially if it is rehearsed and you are helping me make it look like I am whipping you”
I would guess she is 5’2” and weighs around 100 libs.
Now some actresses would have simply said they could beat up 220lb. bikers.
So we don't do maneuver warfare anymore? Iraq anyone?
If you are going to be consistent finally, you can't compare a 5.56 shooting SAW to an M60 which fires a larger projectile. The M240 is the same caliber and its average weight through out the variants is comparable to the M60.
Granted most of the infantry is mounted nowadays in desert terrain but they are dismounted in urban terrain and hump those guns under fire sometimes for many days. They also wear more gear than the average WWII soldier. The MG is far from a defensive only weapon any officer who used it strictly in a defensive manner needs to put his head in front of it.
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