Navy Secretary Mabus rejects Marine report showing women perform worse than men in combat roles

The Washington Times ^ | September 11, 2015 | Kellan Howell

[jazusamo]

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus criticized Friday the findings of a new Marine report that all-male combat units perform better on a number of tactical tasks than mixed-gender units.

Mr. Mabus, the civilian secretary who leads the Navy Department — including the Marine Corps — has called for the Navy to open combat jobs to women, and said the latest report may have been tainted by negative attitudes from the beginning.

“They started out with a fairly largely component of the men thinking this is not a good idea, and women will not be able to do this,” he said in an interview with NPR.

The report, released Thursday, was conducted over a 9-month period at two separate training camps and is part of a Marine Corps experiment to study integrating women into the infantry in order to meet a 2012 order by then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to open all military jobs, including combat roles, to women.

Services must open all jobs to women by January, or else submit requests for exemptions to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter by the end of this month.

[CA Conservative]

They’re defending her because she’s a girl while they’re trying to get women into roles they are not suited for.

Okay, I challenge you to name one person defending Carly in this that wants force the military to put women into combat roles. The ones I have heard are on the right side of the spectrum, and don't support the social engineering of the military either. So I don't see the level of hypocrisy you are suggesting with this comment.

I think a female can be president, but voting someone in for identity is a mistake

On this we agree. :-)

[ozzymandus]

Truth is not an option.

[MayflowerMadam]

This makes me think of the Dirty Harry “Enforcer” movie when H.R. forces women to be hired before qualified men. Harry says something like, “Well, that sounds very stylish.” Always loved that line. (And the one about cruelty to animals.)

[Pollster1]

“They started out with a fairly largely component of the men thinking this is not a good idea, and women will not be able to do this,” he said in an interview with NPR.

He's not even goodly speakingly the English. This guy is stupid but politically correct and spineless. It's clear how he got the job.

[Iron Munro]

Which president commissioned an investigation of the dangers of marijuana, and when the results back negating the premise, promptly denounced it? Reagan?

Ah...

The old "He did it too!" argument.

Well, that always puts everyone in their place, doesn't it?

[CA Conservative]

Chris Evert said that even at the top of her game, as the best women’s tennis player in the world, she regularly lost to her brother who was unranked in men’s tennis.

[SandRat]

Hey,... Mabus. When the Army trad this sort of thing in the 1970s,... DACOWITS, became in troop speak DACOWITCH and then finally DACOB****.

[lostboy61]

If you have never been in the mud and blood you have no ideal what’s going on. As they get more brass the size of there balls goes down.

[sparklite2]

A little perspective never hurts.

[Terry L Smith]

dear oldvirginian,
I would frame your question:
“what do a few dead Marines matter”

They matter to all of us. Now, as a juxtaposition, if the still living and still capable parent of one of those Marines, were to exact his measure of recompense, at that future moment of time directly towards this Mabus fellow, in office or not, do You think that would matter, and do You think that that action would result in enough satisfaction, for that father’s grief?

[riverdawg]

I used to play in pick-up basketball games, and a couple of young women who were Olympic (and, later, WNBA) stars occasionally joined in. They were probably playing at only 70% capacity, but they still wanted to win and not be embarrassed. They were fundamentally sound, but couldn't handle the best male players in those games, none of whom played D-I college ball.

[ichabod1]

I think there should be a Title IX for professional sports.

[ichabod1]

I thought that was Nixon.

[Ancesthntr]

Ray Mabus is delusional: he has just pointed up to the sky told us that what we see up their flapping their wings in a V-formation is a flock of flying pigs...and, worse, he expects us to believe him.

I just can’t wait for Trump and his team of ADULTS to be in charge!

[sparklite2]

Might have been. I’m not positive.

[ichabod1]

Seems to me like Nixon got a report suggesting marijuana was not nearly as harmful as other drugs, but he was running as a hard core law & order candidate, and the public didn’t really want to HEAR that pot was ok at the time, so he rejected and suppressed it.

[sparklite2]

I googled it, and you’re right. That’s why I had a question mark after Reagan. It was Nixon.

The Nixon administration did not implement the recommendations from The National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse; and in fact, while the study was pending, Nixon attempted to influence the result by telling Shafer, “You’re enough of a pro to know that for you to come out with something that would run counter to what the Congress feels and what the country feels, and what we’re planning to do, would make your commission just look bad as hell.”

[stanne]

Eh, you’re probably right.

[Secret Agent Man]

Guess what hed be doing if the report said the opposite.

[stanne]

But if I keep my eyes peeled for a pundit defending her who has called for women in combat, my bet is I could find one