US Military beginning to recruit women for combat jobs

[webfact]

Military beginning to recruit women for combat jobs
By LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON (AP) — The military services are already beginning to recruit women for combat jobs, including as Navy SEALs, and could see them serving in previously male-only Army and Marine Corps infantry units by this fall, according to new plans endorsed by Defense Secretary Ash Carter and obtained by The Associated Press.

Some of the services predict that only small numbers of women will volunteer or get through training courses, details of the plans show. The Marine Corps estimates 200 women a year will move into ground combat jobs. And U.S. Special Operations Command said it anticipates a "small number" of volunteers for its commando jobs.

The Navy said it is already collecting submission packages from prospective SEAL candidates and could see women in entry-level enlisted and officer training in September and October. The Navy started collecting the packages last month.

All of the services say they have made required changes to base bathrooms and other facilities to accommodate women, and they will monitor training, injury assessments, and possible sexual harassment or assault problems.

The plans have been under review by senior Pentagon leaders and have not been made public.

Carter said Thursday that he accepted the services' implementation recommendations, but provided no details. He is expected to sign a memo in the coming days telling the military to begin executing the plans next month.

The top Army and Marine Corps generals told senators last month that it will take up to three years to fully integrate women into all combat jobs. And they have insisted they will not lower standards for the combat posts or bow to pressure or quotas to get more women into the grueling frontline jobs.

After a lengthy review by the services and the Pentagon, Carter in December ordered all combat jobs open to women. The Marine Corps initially sought to keep certain infantry and combat jobs closed, citing studies showing combined-gender units are not as effective as male-only units. But Carter and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus rejected that proposal.

Since then, the military services have put together plans outlining exactly how they will incorporate women into the male-only units.

The Marine Corps said that having about 200 women moving into combat jobs each year would mean that they would make up less than 2 percent of the Marines in those occupations. The Corps would use what it called a "teaming concept" that would try to assign two or more junior enlisted women to the same unit.

The plan notes that so far no women have made it through the Marine infantry officer course, and added that, "we recognize there may be small numbers, and the Services are prepared to handle this."

Last year several hundred female Marines participated in a task force studying the impact of allowing women to compete for combat jobs. The enlisted women who were in the program are eligible to transfer immediately into combat jobs since they already completed the training. Although some have expressed interest in the jobs, none have formally requested a transfer.

The Army intends to first assign female officers to jobs in the infantry and armor units, and then gradually bring in female enlisted soldiers. And it plans to also assign more than one woman in a unit.

The first officers will start training in June, and could graduate in October. The first female enlisted soldiers wouldn't begin moving into ground combat units until May 2017.

Unlike the Army and Marine Corps, the Air Force said it will not assign women in groups to units, and will instead follow routine assignment procedures.

The bulk of the male-only units are in the Army and Marine Corps. Only a few of the Navy and Air Force units excluded women, and those were largely special operations-related jobs and assignments on ships that do not have adequate berthing to accommodate women.

The military services said they plan to carefully evaluate recruits, including new types of testing that helps predict whether the person — either man or woman — has the ability to meet the difficult physical demands of the combat jobs. The services plan to conduct regular review and collect injury data that will help guide training and other changes that might be needed.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-03-04

[williamgeorgeallen]

i will be amazed if females can make it through seal training. they had to lower fitness standards for the nz army for females as almost none could do 10 chin ups or 30 push ups. if we could not do them we go booted. then there was an issue with them not wanting shaved heads, so that was changed, but only for them. then there was an issue about them being yelled at, so that had to stop.

[JetsetBkk]

Obama had better change his mantra to "No high-heels on the ground".

[user82374298374]

It will take a avoidable full-scale military disaster, likely with fatalities, for people to see the idiocy of putting women into front-line combat roles.

And even then, the mavens of political correctness will deny the obvious.

[sgtsabai]

If they can make the course then they belong. If they can't they don't. Same as us men. Same course as men, no change, none, nada, zip. It is pure and simple. I saw a few "men" wash out of Marine Corp boot camp. I worked with several women over the years fighting wildland fire back in another century. Like us, some were good, some were damn good, and some should have never been there. It was amazing how diffences in sex went out the window when push came to shove. You know, like differences in skin color, religion, politics, sexual preference etc. does when the crap hits the fan, the bullets fly or the fire is burning your ass.

[chuckd]

Yet another Obama social experiment doomed for utter failure.

[samran]

The usual suspect misogynists out the gate quickly on this one.

Stop the world everyone, they want to get off!

[soc]

l don't think that women in the infantry is a good idea.

Sure they may be fit enough & a woman can pull a trigger as well as a man.

l know when l was on patrol l used to get awful sore between the legs, from sweat, chafing etc.

Eventually the pain was excruciating.

What will the stick do when the woman wants to urinate?

Form a defensive circle while she drops her pants & squats?

lf she has to do it in her pants, so not hold up the patrol, well you'll soon be carrying her as she won't be able to walk for long.

Or are you going to leave her behind?

Sorry Ladies, l love & respect you & you can do ANY other job in the military but but l wouldn't want you in my stick.

[wabothai]

The little bit left of a man's world now is infiltrated by women. Can't have that happen, can we?

Let's go for men's rights and on to the barricades.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

A Marine study found that the top 5% of women do as well as the worst men recruits. This will cost lives and demoralize troops. Political correctness will bring down the west.

[Ulic]

I am all for equality but some times common sense should apply. I am sure they will find

someone who can pass and they will be pushed through.

[GOLDBUGGY]

I am all for equal opportunity but in this case I think this is a terrible idea. I have no doubt some women can fight as well as any man, but it is these captured prisoners of war I worry more about.

As long as they are women then the threat of rape exists. Put a woman pilot shoot down and captured by a Terrorist Group and it is almost a gimme that she will be raped. A man may be beaten or tortured, but getting raped is probably not so high on there list, or as it would be for women.

[ggt]

Wrap your mind around the idea of a platoon of ladies...made up of mothers, lesbians, and trannies....going head to head with ISIS on the battlefield...feel safer now?

[maximillian]

Best if any man and every woman would not volonteer for war service.

Imagine there is a war and nobody would join in...

Peace to the world.

[connda]

I bet the boyz on the front can't wait for that.

Wait for the howling once they start coming home in boxes.

[chickenslegs]

At certain times of the month I would bet on my missus slaughtering the enemy without mercy.

[bangkokjulia]

For the most part, I agree with what most of you are saying. What I can say, speaking from personal experience, is that there are certainly some women who would do just as well as their male counterparts. I unfortunately worked with females I wouldn't pi55 on if they were on fire, but I worked with some who would kick many a man's ar5e.

[sgtsabai]

I would think a woman that was in combat would do just like a man, piss and/or crap whenever and wherever she could and nobody would give a rat's ass. Hell we showered together after coming off the fire line at times and we were so tired we didn't give a damn what anybody looked like or what sex they were. As far as the rape bullcrap, I wouldn't bet the farm on a nice young boy getting captured getting away without a little sodomy. If a woman can make the grade, she can make the grade. It wasn't all that long ago that almost the exact same things were being said about an integrated military, moral, etc. Seems the Kurdish women do pretty damn well, any of you want to go up against them?

[arjunadawn]

There are all kinds of reasons why this is a bad idea. There has never been one single occasion where integration efforts have not been met by compromising standards (edit) WITH REGARD TO THE SPECIAL FORCES. Don't like it? Its true. Whether its race, women, etc., invariably standards were lowered to expedite or achieve the objectives.

Example: Whether or not cold weather special forces units could have eventually attained a black American volunteer rate commensurate with their % in the larger population. So, under congressional mandate or such, within x months when they do not have so many numbers reflecting integration, they then lower (change) standards. Same thing for other special forces units. When the efforts where made in the 80s to have the numbers in SF reflect the numbers in society they had to change some of the standards to make it happen. Why? Because the fact remains that whether they could or could not many minorities did not want to do such stupid crap. The swim tests were made waivarable. Land Navigation became not only something that you could try over and over but eventually they could not reconcile that the amount of money invested by the time a Special Forces candidate got to their third land navigation attempt. So, they waived land navigation and projected the duty on to the Team Sergeants. Land navigation- a skill all soldiers should be masters at by the rank of sergeant, and special forces, a unit that one can only apply to when sergeant and above, began waiving land navigation and sending minority soldiers to teams without the skills.

Many minorities successfully tried out and were awarded tridents and special forces or ranger tabs for generations. This was not the problem. The problem was the social engineering. There were less minorities because they did not want the bullS. They simply choose not to. Many could have. But by requiring the services to reflect the larger percentages in society the standards were compromised. I have worked with a number of minority men in the military and all agree with me on the above observation. When standards are lowered to achieve the quota the entire mission is compromised. If anyone thinks having women apply, apply, try out, try out, pass, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, pass, fail, fail, fail, and the solution will not be to change the manner that pass is calculated they are naive or dishonest. Social engineering in the US has never turned around, never make a right turn, it always doubles down, changes the meaning of words, and lowers standards.

Do I think women can do the same job as Special Forces and SEALs? No, of course not. They cannot. There are plenty of women who can do the job, but this issue is not about those women. Those women who can do the same job actually already have a place to go. I know. I have met them, worked with them in ground branch, and elsewhere. Same job. Same missions. Same equipment. Same challenges. This issue is about the women who cannot do the job acquiring it by force of law to make the traditional bastion of US military conservatism heal before Progressivism.

For the record, special forces also has punks that pass and get tabbed/trident. We push those pieces of crap to rear support roles. Does anyone think women who keep getting stress fractures, pms, axial loading injuries, will be pushed to company, or support roles quietly?

Edited March 4, 2016 by arjunadawn

[williamgeorgeallen]

hygiene is another point. i got an infected fore skin and had to march with it for several days, if i told a medic i may have been kicked off the course and would have had to repeat the it if i got to do it again. would a woman have done the same with hygiene issues? the 'hard assed foul mouthed' female they put in our section sprained he ankle when the going got tough and we never saw he again.

[spiritrace]

It's about time. Females have gotten a free ride on this subject and yet scream equal rights......Now, they have more equal rights and responsibilities.

Apparently some of you have never faced a tiny pissed off Cong female with an automatic rifle at the wrong time of the month.

I spent 25 years in the Navy and Marine Corps and have seen how females manipulate men.

I have no problem with this.

[Scott]

This is sad news for the politicians, who in the past, only had to find ways of keeping their sons out of combat roles.

[mopar71]

i will be amazed if females can make it through seal training. they had to lower fitness standards for the nz army for females as almost none could do 10 chin ups or 30 push ups. if we could not do them we go booted. then there was an issue with them not wanting shaved heads, so that was changed, but only for them. then there was an issue about them being yelled at, so that had to stop.

Six months ago two women became Army Rangers without needing lower standards...

History in the making: 2 women will graduate from Army Ranger course

Two women made history by becoming the first female soldiers to complete their courses at the Army's exhausting Ranger School, according to a statement from the women's families. The women will graduate Friday.

Capt. Kristen Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver are the first female soldiers to graduate from the school for the special operations unit.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/18/politics/women-graduate-army-ranger-course/

Of course, two months later they were passed over for Woman of the Year in favor of Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner who still had all his male parts.

[mopar71]

This is sad news for the politicians, who in the past, only had to find ways of keeping their sons out of combat roles.

I think it's part of some vast white hetero-male conspiracy. First blacks demanded to die in war, then gays, now women. Pretty soon, white guys can just sit home with their video games and let everyone else do the dying.

[neverdie]

The usual suspect misogynists out the gate quickly on this one.

Stop the world everyone, they want to get off!

They'd be a few of these ole farts that would easily have their backsides kicked by a few woman I worked with over the years. I mean most of these douchebags probably pushed pens in offices or licked stamps or something. In their fragile years they moved to Thailand with their meagre pensions and spend their days getting pushed around by a 47 kg Thai woman ! Spend their days moaning about Obama and the price of mama noodles.

I do for one think it is fair to have equal rights between men and women however I really fear for women captured by an enemy, especially a group of savages like ISIS.

[Pakboong]

If you take the top triathlons and compare the top man's time against that of the top woman, there will be a difference of about 12.5%. At least that is what it was some 20 years ago. I do not expect much change.

Triathlons measure strength, endurance and will.

[soc]

The usual suspect misogynists out the gate quickly on this one.

Stop the world everyone, they want to get off!

They'd be a few of these ole farts that would easily have their backsides kicked by a few woman I worked with over the years. I mean most of these douchebags probably pushed pens in offices or licked stamps or something. In their fragile years they moved to Thailand with their meagre pensions and spend their days getting pushed around by a 47 kg Thai woman ! Spend their days moaning about Obama and the price of mama noodles.

I do for one think it is fair to have equal rights between men and women however I really fear for women captured by an enemy, especially a group of savages like ISIS.

lf they are captured by ISIS, they will be put up for sale on the slave block.

[bangkokjulia]

A few of you have bought up the subject of where will a woman urinate and crap. Let me tell you-when you've gotta go, you've gotta go. I was on a liferaft for 26 hours, no toilet. What choice did I have but to hang over the side-same as the males. No issues for me, nor them. Seen some of the toilets in up country Thailand? Give me a bush any day.Those of you who have mentioned hygiene issues-not an issue. Take that from someone who knows. Capture by ISIS-women who join up do so on a voluntary basis. If they are not aware of what may happen, just as males, they shouldn't sign the dotted line.

Edited March 5, 2016 by bangkokjulia