Women Dropped From USMC Infantry Course

[Electric_Strawberry]

That is a lot of stuff.


The good old days of having a horse eh? So why did cavalry go out of style when they could be used for infantry support? A horse can handle some tough terrain. Why spend a fortune developing a robotic mule when there are horses?

It's funny you should say that.  When it was time to move out, "The Word" was, "Saddle up."  ;D

[Longdan]

While there are undeniable physical fitness issues I think
since the majority of soldiers are male the primary problem
of women serving in frontline units is the delicate ego and
emotional problems they cause for their male counterparts.
Anybody who has been married knows that women are much
more ruthless and emotionally adapted to combat compared to
males who are rather fragile and burdened by ideals such as
fair play and other nonsense.  Why do you think women were
given the job of childbearing?  If it was up to the sausage crowd
the race would have ben extinct before we left the trees.

[Airborne Rifles]

Anybody who has been married knows that women are much
more ruthless and emotionally adapted to combat compared to
males who are rather fragile and burdened by ideals such as
fair play and other nonsense. 

I'm married.  I've led elite soldiers in combat.  My wife was a soldier and led elite soldiers in combat.  I know no such thing.

[Toonces]

My primary objection to women in an infantry role would be, as already stated, physical strength.  Maybe pushups aren't such a big deal, but when her buddy takes a round and needs to be carried to safety, will she be strong enough to do it?  If a woman is some GI Jane super-woman and can hack it physically, then initially I would be all for it.

JH brings up a good point, though.  Although I don't have any objection to a woman taking a bullet in combat if she volunteered and when through all that work to get there, but I wonder how it would affect her fellow Marines/soldiers seeing her take a bullet?  Men kind of act differently when it comes to protecting a woman vs protecting a man.  I wonder if a man might even put himself at risk far beyond what he would normally do, in order to protect, save, or rescue a wounded woman in combat?

On a separate note, I couldn't believe how heavy body armor was the first time I had to wear it.  I mean, you see all those infantry dudes humping around, running and jumping and what not in that stuff and you don't realize that that shit weighs like 50 or 60 pounds.  I remember I put it on and I was like, "you mean I have to wear this shit all the time?  How do you expect me to be able to do anything?"

I guess you get used to it after a while, but I never did.  I always felt like that kid in A Christmas Story that couldn't put his arms down when his mom dressed him up to go outside in the snow.

[bayonetbrant]

On a separate note, I couldn't believe how heavy body armor was the first time I had to wear it.  I mean, you see all those infantry dudes humping around, running and jumping and what not in that stuff and you don't realize that that shit weighs like 50 or 60 pounds.  I remember I put it on and I was like, "you mean I have to wear this shit all the time?  How do you expect me to be able to do anything?"

We joined the military; you joined the Navy ;)

[Longdan]

What was said up there illustrates my point a bit.
Morale wise it is the guys with the problems and the worries.
I cannot argue with Airborne Rifles but I have faced an armed
and angry man - and fled in terror from a woman armed only with
her tongue...and..  well ... a couple of softer things.
But she could slay a big man at forty paces with that tongue!
cheers

[Airborne Rifles]

What was said up there illustrates my point a bit.
Morale wise it is the guys with the problems and the worries.
I cannot argue with Airborne Rifles but I have faced an armed
and angry man - and fled in terror from a woman armed only with
her tongue...and..  well ... a couple of softer things.
But she could slay a big man at forty paces with that tongue!
cheers

I'm sure both experiences were terrifying, but also irrelevant to who is best suited for light infantry combat.

[Boggit]

Depends - as has been said before on who the woman is: 8)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-RrO1hxJac&feature=related
http://listverse.com/2008/03/17/top-10-badass-female-warriors/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2069988/First-female-soldier-kill-combat-Chantelle-Taylor-says-me.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2173050/Do-NOT-steal-woman-s-towel-Heavily-armed-bikini-clad-female-Israeli-soldiers-mingle-Tel-Aviv-beachgoers.html

More seriously
http://news.yahoo.com/israels-only-co-ed-combat-unit-proves-worth-062742493.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyudmila_Pavlichenko

[GDS_Starfury]

On a separate note, I couldn't believe how heavy body armor was the first time I had to wear it.

isnt Navy body armor called a ship?