Posted on 04/25/2015 7:08:04 PM PDT by markomalley
To assuage fears that different standards will apply to men and women in Ranger School, women have been required to sport short haircuts, as well.
“The standard for the Ranger course is for students to have the shortest haircut authorized by AR 670-1,” Col. William Butler, deputy commandant of the U.S. Army Infantry School, told Army Times.
The idea is to maintain strict standards of hygiene. Short hair makes it much easier to spot ticks. Women are not allowed to have hair extending more than one inch from the scalp. If there are any bangs, they may not fall below the eyebrows.
Nineteen women were brought into the two-month long Ranger School on Monday for the first time ever, in an attempt to answer the larger question of whether combat occupations can be opened up to women in the military. As of Thursday, just 8 of 19 women have managed to survive the Ranger Assessment Phase (RAP) and will continue on in the course. For the first day of RAP, students needed to complete 49 push-ups in two minutes, a five-mile run in 40 minutes, and six strict chin-ups, among other things.
On Thursday, the last day, students had to hike for 12-miles with a 35-pound pack, a rifle, and a vest.
During the planning process, officials have taken extra steps to ensure the training runs smoothly, even updating the packing list requirements to include certain items for the women, such as sports bras, tampons, and a female urinary diversion device, which allows women to urinate while standing.
According to the Pentagon, all jobs have to be opened to women by January, or else the military needs to request waivers from Congress to keep certain jobs closed.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter was noncommittal this week when asked about his predictions about performance, answering that “maybe” all jobs will be opened. However, Carter seemed to think that female performance will be sufficient enough to open up most jobs.
That too. After a few weeks in the field, ANY young, fit woman looks pretty good, which is a good reason to exclude women and homosexuals from combat units. The unit really does not need sexual tension (or upsets about sexual rejection) when they are supposed to be focused on the mission.
The US Olympic women's hockey team competed against some high school varsity teams -- and regularly lost
I agree. The strongest woman I have ever met in the Marine Corps could only do 15 pullups. That is a about average for a male Marine. I was doing 22 pullups, 110 crunches in two minutes and running three miles in 22 minutes at the age of 48 and I knew that I was over the hill- not in strength, but in endurance. Women and old men cannot recuperate as fast as young men.
I had friends that went to Ranger school. They didn't talk about how strong you had to be, they talked about being one step away from exhaustion, constant sleep depredation, and always being hungry.
I went to jump school when I was 21. It was way too easy. I probably drank 6-12 beers a day after training and smoked about 2 packs of cigarettes a day and had absolutely no problems with the training.
We had an Army major in my airborne class and he told me getting old sucks, because he was in very good shape, but the daily grind wore his body down. He said that by the second week of training he spent an hour each day soaking his body in the bath tub to relax; while the rest of use were at the bar drinking and smoking.
35lb pack!!!!. It used to be 70lbs!
And if she can’t?
No, women are the weaker sex and need to be protected.
If the woman can’t keep up, she is a weak link.
True but they need to be protected for the species to survive.
You’re equating civilian paramedics to Army Rangers/combat?
No?
I’m relieved to hear that Lt.
The article is a comparison to combat, so not only is your reading comprehension bad, you comment is irrelevant. And not only do you know nothing about "my generation," you also seem to believe that 1965 was equal to 1865. So other than getting everything wrong, thanks for sharing.
There is nothing like an arrogant old man.
First of all, my comment was in reference to a comment made on the thread, not the article.
Keep up old man.
And while I am here, your world in 1965 was a lot closer to 1865 in the way you treated minorities and women.
We’ve come a long way. Be open to new things.
I give up. You old guys probably get nervous when you see a woman doctor or a black man in a position of authority.
I am glad that you are too old to do anything but make comments on a web site.
Just wondering...do you actually read the articles and comments, or do you must float from thread to thread spouting non-sequiturs..
We are not talking about standards. The standards are the standards. Just like a man...if they cannot make it, they go back where they came from.
Why is this so difficult for you guys to understand?
Who said anything about changing standards?
How come you guys are sticking words into my mouth?
Do you read the comments, or just skim through them? Because I never, ever, said that the standards shouldn’t be changed.
Its a brave new world out here. Things are changing and we are going to need every skilled and qualified person that we can get. Whether or not they can piss standing up or sitting down doesn’t much matter...if they can do the job.
And when was the last time you worked closely with female athletes? Back in softball in highschool? In 1948?
You really need to update your exposure. Go watch women play national championship rugby. They would kick not only your ass, but most of your friends and their kids.
You have no idea what you are talking about.
The times have changed. If they can meet the standards, they should serve. Just like men.
And everyone who has entered and passed Ranger school is a combat vet? Really? Then we had no Rangers from 1975 through 1991? Except for maybe the folks in Panama?
Your point is ridiculous.
We are talking about schools, and standards. These schools and standards have been around for more than 50 years. If a woman passes, they pass. I am not talking about changing the standards—I am talking about ability, drive, and determination. These are the key skills they have been using for decades.
The fact that you believe, in your heart, that there are no women capable of beating out a man, is so out of date your head needs a good dusting.
You are correct that I have not been in combat. I have all the respect in the world from those who have. But I also understand that your focus is so narrow and old that you are incapable of imaging anything new.
What a sad place to be in.
You don’t seem to understand that is a complete difference in athletics and combat.
Unless and until you face REAL combat, you do not know how you will react...PERIOD...
You may think you know, but you really don’t....
The toughest, most grueling athletic events will be walked away from at the end whether you win or lose...
You can DIE in combat...Trying to equate the two is ridiculous.....
I’m through with this subject...
Unless you’ve been there, you haven’t clue what you are talking about....
You haven’t a clue what any of our Special Operations troops did between 1975 and 1991...Special Operations perform tasks that are NEVER reported in the news...You will NEVER know what they did or where they were...
You are just clueless kid...Maybe as you grow older, you’ll develop some mature intelligence...
LOL, stop being an @ss. And by the way, "my world" was nowhere near 1965. But I will grant you that your snarling, impudent and arrogant tongue does fit this current world extremely well. As does your utter ignorance of recent history.
I'm glad your daughter can lift her end of stretcher. Its just pathetic that you think that that means any Special Forces operator would want her anywhere near them in combat, despite how liberated she is. Or that you think her abilities are relevant in this thread.
There's nothing like the arrogance of a perennially teenage man-boy. They always think their training-wheels are the real thing.
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