My last combat tour was sitting in a FOB. I was 49 years old. I could do 80 pushups for my PT test, run 1.5 miles in 9 minutes, and was overall in pretty good shape for a 49 year old guy.
But the truth was that I could do an honest 6 hours of combat-level field work, provided I had a week to recover afterward. I could do fine for a few hours, but the 20 year old guys would keep going for 12 or 18 hours, and then do it the next day, and the next, month after month.
My suspicion is that women will prove to be similar. A few will be able to pass the test. Many will be able to put in a good day’s work. Some a good week’s work. And if they are on a FOB, like I was, it won’t matter. But if they are in real field conditions - something I didn’t do at 49 (in part because no one WANTED me at 49) - they won’t cut it long. And they will be the weakest link. They may be good. But like me at 49, they won’t be close to the best. So why bother?
At 57, I’d volunteer to go fly jets again in a heartbeat. But in my honest moments, I have to admit I can’t handle the strain of flight line operations like I could at 25. The military would be STUPID to seek me out and recruit me instead of a young guy. And it is STUPID to seek out women in the interest of “fairness”. If a motivated old guy is still an old guy, then a woman is still a woman.
As a Japanese fighter pilot a friend of mine knew used to say, “You no have will to cheat, you no have will to win!” There is no place for fairness in combat.
Ground combat is an environment best handled by young men. The Left have a fantasy that they can wish away all of realities that support this simple fact. Acting out your fantasies in combat will get people killed.
Well-stated from an experienced perspective. It’s unfortunate your years of wisdom are being overlooked by those with a “fairness” agenda and they’re making it a career-ending choice to provide that kind of input.