Changes

When I was in the Pogg unit I couldn't believe how what percentage of women were sitting out of training ops on crutches, etc.  In line units, probably 15% of us (males) got injured in some way shape or form during pre-deployment workups.  I'd say out of about 250 Marines, 6 got injured to the point where they were considered non-deployable.  Everyone else sucked it up and went anyway.  Back in the support unit where the training was considerably (laughably) easier, twenty percent of the females were injured.  These injuries were mostly due to stress fractures and heat injuries (caused by women not drinking enough water because they were too embarrassed to urinate).  Another 50% (that makes 70% of our total) made themselves non-deployable by either getting pregnant or complaining of migraines or some other ailment.  Now I will allow that there is a percentage of women on the high end of the scale who surpass some of the men even at the middle in physical training.  But on the average, the top quintile of females in the military are even with the bottom quintile of males as far as physical training is concerned.

When I was in the Pogg unit I couldn't believe how what percentage of women were sitting out of training ops on crutches, etc.  In line units, probably 15% of us (males) got injured in some way shape or form during pre-deployment workups.  I'd say out of about 250 Marines, 6 got injured to the point where they were considered non-deployable.  Everyone else sucked it up and went anyway.  Back in the support unit where the training was considerably (laughably) easier, twenty percent of the females were injured.  These injuries were mostly due to stress fractures and heat injuries (caused by women not drinking enough water because they were too embarrassed to urinate).  Another 50% (that makes 70% of our total) made themselves non-deployable by either getting pregnant or complaining of migraines or some other ailment.  Now I will allow that there is a percentage of women on the high end of the scale who surpass some of the men even at the middle in physical training.  But on the average, the top quintile of females in the military are even with the bottom quintile of males as far as physical training is concerned.

I'm not against women of any fitness level being in any support unit, but that's not for me.  Some people can do it, but I can't.  The macho mentality which I think is so necessary to create the aggression and violence of action could be held by some women in infantry roles, but it would diminish that mentality in many of the males, whether that's right or wrong.  Male infantrymen are not, for the most part, enlightened social engineers.  Their agenda is fighting and killing and taking care of each other.  In the support unit I was surprised and disgusted at how much of my time was spent trying to stop people from sleeping with each other in a combat zone.  Male-female bonds were causing stress, resentment of leadership, favoritism, and fights between the males and sometimes even the females.  Sex in combat zones is strictly forbidden (even if your spouse is there) because it diminishes cohesion.  But the command always turned a blind eye because it was a messy issue and no one wanted to "get involved."  And that's in the units that I think can be mixed gender and succeed.  I couldn't even imagine what would happen in a line unit where cohesion is perhaps the most important thing a unit can possess.

I'm not against women of any fitness level being in any support unit, but that's not for me.  Some people can do it, but I can't.  The macho mentality which I think is so necessary to create the aggression and violence of action could be held by some women in infantry roles, but it would diminish that mentality in many of the males, whether that's right or wrong.  Male infantrymen are not, for the most part, enlightened social engineers.  Their agenda is fighting and killing and taking care of each other.  In the support unit I was surprised and disgusted at how much of my time was spent trying to stop people from sleeping with each other in a combat zone.  Male-female bonds were causing stress, resentment of leadership, favoritism, and fights between the males and sometimes even the females.  Sex in combat zones is strictly forbidden (even if your spouse is there) because it diminishes cohesion.  But the command always turned a blind eye because it was a messy issue and no one wanted to "get involved."  And that's in the units that I think can be mixed gender and succeed.  I couldn't even imagine what would happen in a line unit where cohesion is perhaps the most important thing a unit can possess.

Speaking as a female, I would have to day no.  I completely believe that there is a small percentage of women out there who are "tough enough" to do the job admirably, I have met some.  That being said however, look at the case of the current hostile situation, the people we are up against tend to be extremists concerning about what a woman's role is. If a male is captured they will tortured certainly for a time, and probably killed.  The type of torture used however, and the time kept alive to continue that torture would be far worse on any female.  That, of coarse, is a worse case idea, but any woman one frontline would be aware of it, as well as her male counter parts.  It has been seen in many cases now that the guys will go out of their way to keep a female from that sort of harm.  Women might as well paint targets on themselves, because this currant enmy is particularly against women in what they deem as a "mans" place.  If you are fighting a sexist enemy, then it makes no difference if everybody on our side sees Her as just "one of the guy's"  I suppose you could make the argument that women should be able to choose for themselves whether they are up to that challenge, and so long as they can hang with the guys, they should be allowed but personally I believe the "super women" (I say that respectfully, for I count some as my friends) should hang back to help protect the badly need support positions and give the whole issue a rest.

Speaking as a female, I would have to day no.  I completely believe that there is a small percentage of women out there who are "tough enough" to do the job admirably, I have met some.  That being said however, look at the case of the current hostile situation, the people we are up against tend to be extremists concerning about what a woman's role is. If a male is captured they will tortured certainly for a time, and probably killed.  The type of torture used however, and the time kept alive to continue that torture would be far worse on any female.  That, of coarse, is a worse case idea, but any woman one frontline would be aware of it, as well as her male counter parts.  It has been seen in many cases now that the guys will go out of their way to keep a female from that sort of harm.  Women might as well paint targets on themselves, because this currant enmy is particularly against women in what they deem as a "mans" place.  If you are fighting a sexist enemy, then it makes no difference if everybody on our side sees Her as just "one of the guy's"  I suppose you could make the argument that women should be able to choose for themselves whether they are up to that challenge, and so long as they can hang with the guys, they should be allowed but personally I believe the "super women" (I say that respectfully, for I count some as my friends) should hang back to help protect the badly need support positions and give the whole issue a rest.