Marines to consider lowering combat standards for women

[Howey]

They're going to have to if Hillary's elected. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria and Kuwait have all donated large to the Clinton Foundation. YOUR kids will get drafted to go protect them if all out war breaks out in the middle east.

How many more times will you be posting this inane talking point?

As I said in the other thread (not so incredibly, my post disappeared), this is old news and certainly no different than the Saudi's donating to Bill Clinton, Bush I and Dubya's libraries.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2008...ng-his-library

At the press conference, a reporter asked Bush if he would disclose the contributions received for his presidential library? He didn't say yes. He replied that "we'll look at the disclosure requirements and make a decision." But there are no disclosure requirements. So that was a non-answer. (Coincidentally--or not--Barack Obama has introduced legislation that would compel the disclosure of donations to presidential libraries.) Bush went on to note that "some people like to give and don't like their names disclosed." That's the issue, isn't it? And he added that he would "probably take some foreign money" for his library.

These comments raise the possibility that he or his foundation might solicit secret contributions from foreign sources--governments, individuals, corporations--while Bush is in office. What an easy way for these foreigners to curry favor. And, of course, the Bush Foundation could hit up American corporations and individuals looking to score points with the White House.

[Professor Peabody]

How many more times will you be posting this inane talking point?

As I said in the other thread (not so incredibly, my post disappeared), this is old news and certainly no different than the Saudi's donating to Bill Clinton, Bush I and Dubya's libraries.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2008...ng-his-library

Donations to libraries come in the last few months of a Presidents term when they have little influence. Hillary's donations are coming BEFORE a 4 or 8 year Presidency. if you can't see the difference........I can try to make it "simpler" for you.

[Cthulhu]

Is there a lot of call for that rope climbing thing in dessert wars?

Combat has a way of making you do really awkward things under stress.

Nearly all are tiring, and most require muscle.

Climbing a rope may seem trivial, but when you have climb in a window without hurting your gear or yourself it quits being a joke.

Or moving up many flights of stairs because elevators aren't exactly in abundance in third world countries.

Sent from my evil, kitten eating cell phone.

[Cthulhu]

Remember when I posted the pictures of all the fatass soldiers?

Not only are these women more fit than them, they're more intelligent and possess greater leadership skills.

Fat male soldier could probably still mount a Mk-19 gun on a pintle mount without assistance.

Female? Not so sure.

As for the rest, I am not sure you actually know what your talking about. I don't hold it against you, but your pushing for an indefensible idea here.

Sent from my evil, kitten eating cell phone.

[Common]

Is there a lot of call for that rope climbing thing in dessert wars?

Silly response, im not even going to address it. If you cant figure it out for yourself Im not going to help you

[Peter1469]

What is it? Like 90% of Americans have no connection to the military? Even more to combat arms.

We need to let military professionals manage personnel issues in the military.

Fat male soldier could probably still mount a Mk-19 gun on a pintle mount without assistance.

Female? Not so sure.

As for the rest, I am not sure you actually know what your talking about. I don't hold it against you, but your pushing for an indefensible idea here.

Sent from my evil, kitten eating cell phone.

[Cthulhu]

What is it? Like 90% of Americans have no connection to the military? Even more to combat arms.

We need to let military professionals manage personnel issues in the military.

Hence why only veterans should hold office. Grunts specifically.

Sent from my evil, kitten eating cell phone.

[Common]

Combat has a way of making you do really awkward things under stress.

Nearly all are tiring, and most require muscle.

Climbing a rope may seem trivial, but when you have climb in a window without hurting your gear or yourself it quits being a joke.

Or moving up many flights of stairs because elevators aren't exactly in abundance in third world countries.

Sent from my evil, kitten eating cell phone.

I wasnt going to explain it, your a better man than me.

Full combat gear weighs approx 55 to 70 lbs thats more than half the weight of many females. Now add having to carry that weight for hours, climb with it have to get up and down from a prone position with it and everything else that happens. JUST THINK for a change with your head and not talking points.
You lower the standards for females it lowers the standards for men.
Somewhere along the line the politically correct crowd is going to have to accept there are things that women cannot Do that men do. Without doing far more harm than good.

Weight of Combat Gear Is Taking Toll

They are talking the men here, not the much smaller females!!!!!!!

Carrying heavy combat loads is taking a quiet but serious toll on troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, contributing to injuries that are sidelining them in growing numbers, according to senior military and defense officials.
Rising concern over the muscle and bone injuries -- as well as the hindrance caused by the cumbersome gear as troops maneuver in Afghanistan's mountains -- prompted Army and Marine Corps leaders and commanders to launch initiatives last month that will introduce lighter equipment for some U.S. troops.
As the military prepares to significantly increase the number of troops in Afghanistan -- including sending as many as 20,000 more Marines -- fielding a new, lighter vest and helmet is a top priority, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway said recently. "We are going to have to lighten our load," he said, after inspecting possible designs during a visit to the Quantico Marine base.

Army leaders and experts say the injuries -- linked to the stress of bearing heavy loads during repeated 12- or 15-month combat tours -- have increased the number of soldiers categorized as "non-deployable." Army personnel reported 257,000 acute orthopedic injuries in 2007, up from 247,000 the previous year.
As injuries force more soldiers to stay home, the Army is having a harder time filling units for upcoming deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, said Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the service's vice chief of staff.
"There is no doubt that [in] our non-deployable rates, we're seeing increase," he said. "I don't want to see it grow any more."
The number of total non-deployables has risen by an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 since 2006, putting the current figure at about 20,000, according to Chiarelli. "That occurs when you run the force at the level we're running it now," he said.
"You can't hump a rucksack at 8,000 to 11,000 feet for 15 months, even at a young age, and not have that have an impact on your body, and we are seeing an increase in muscular-skeletal issues," Chiarelli told reporters last month.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...013101717.html

[Peter1469]

My feet knees and lower back are injured enough from the army that I can't run on concrete or asphalt. Only on a professional track and then I need to skip days and not run back to back.

[waltky]

Semper female...

First Female Marine Recruit Signs Infantry Contract
Jun 22, 2016 | The first woman to enlist in the Marine Corps with an infantry contract is headed to boot camp later this year.

A 19-year-old female applicant had contracted into the Marines' delayed entry program, selecting to enlist in the infantry, Jim Edwards, a spokesman for Marine Corps Recruiting Command, told Military.com. The contract means that she will enter the 0300 community, with her specific military occupational specialty to be determined according to the needs of the Marine Corps at School of Infantry training in Camp Geiger, North Carolina, he said. The poolee is set to ship to recruit training between October and December of this year, Edwards said. At this point, she has not been publicly identified and she has opted not to conduct any interviews, he said. There will be numerous physical hurdles to cross before she gets to an infantry unit in the fleet.

Two sergeants take cover while maneuvering to conduct an enemy counter attack during a pilot test at Range 107, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California

In order to qualify for the infantry contract, the recruit had to pass an enhanced initial strength test including a mile-and-a-half run, three pullups, an ammunition can lift and crunches, Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Philip Kulczewski told Military.com. She will have to pass this enhanced IST again after she reaches boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. Non-infantry recruits, on the other hand, take a strength test with no ammunition can lift requirement and the option for women to conduct a flexed-arm hang, instead of pullups. About 45 days into boot camp, the recruit and all other recruits slated for infantry jobs will need to pass a physical fitness test that includes a six-pullup requirement, Kulczewski said.

If a recruit fails to pass any of these tests, they risk being reclassified into a non-infantry job. And that is proving to be a stringent requirement. According to data obtained by Military.com and first reported by the Associated Press, seven female recruits have attempted to pass the enhanced strength and physical fitness tests since January. One has passed, and six have been reclassified to different jobs. Among male recruits, 1,457 have taken the tests and 46 have been reclassified.

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New Standards Weeding Out Both Male and Female Marine Combat Hopefuls
Jun 21, 2016 | WASHINGTON — New physical standards established so women can compete for combat posts in the Marine Corps have weeded out many of the female hopefuls. But they're also disqualifying some men, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.

In the last five months, 6 out of 7 female recruits — and 40 out of about 1,500 male recruits — failed to pass the new regimen of pull-ups, ammunition-can lifts, a 3-mile run and combat maneuvers required to move on in training for combat jobs, according to the data. The tests, taken about 45 days into basic training, force recruits who fail into other, less physically demanding Marine jobs. And that, the Marine commandant says, is making the Corps stronger. The high failure rate for women, however, raises questions about how well integration can work, including in Marine infantry units where troops routinely slog for miles carrying packs weighed down with artillery shells and ammunition, and at any moment must be able to scale walls, dig in and fight in close combat.

Female recruits stand at the Marine Corps Training Depot on Parris Island, S.C

The new standards are a product of the Pentagon's decision to allow women to compete for frontline jobs, including infantry, artillery and other combat posts. But Marine leaders say they are having a broader impact by screening out less physically powerful Marines — both men and women. "I think that's made everybody better," Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller told the AP in his first in-depth interview on the subject. "We're trying to raise everybody's bar a little bit and we're trying to figure out how to get closer together, because at the end of the day we're all going to be on the battlefield and we all have to be able to do our job."

Marine Corps leaders initially balked at allowing women into certain infantry, reconnaissance and combat engineer jobs, pointing to studies that showed mixed gender units did not perform as well as male-only units. But Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered all combat jobs must be open to women. The Marines developed a detailed progression of physical standards that recruits must meet to get into the combat jobs. And officials insist that standards will not be lowered to allow more women to pass. The results underscore the difficulties for women. Nearly 86 percent of the women failed the tests, compared to less than 3 percent of the men.

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More Women Needed as UN Peacekeepers: Dunford
Jun 20, 2016 | Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford last weekend became the first Joint Chiefs chairman ever to address the United Nations, where he called for more women in U.N. peacekeeping missions.

"I'd like to highlight there's a growing need for women to serve as peacekeepers," said Dunford, who as Marine Corps commandant was one of the last holdouts to opening all combat positions to women in the U.S. military. "During my deployments to Iraq and later as the commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, I learned firsthand that women are an important part of an effective response to today's challenges," Dunford said Saturday at a forum on peacekeeping at U.N. headquarters in New York. "Women not only add to the capability of our own forces, they have a unique ability to connect with local populations in areas of instability," Dunford said.

The U.N. currently funds at more than $7 billion annually numerous peacekeeping missions worldwide, including in Abyei (Sudan), the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Darfur, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Golan, Haiti, Kosovo, Liberia, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan and Western Sahara. Current peacekeeping operations involve more than 121,000 troops, police and civilians in increasingly dangerous efforts to cope with the chaos of failing states. Since 1948, more than 3,700 UN peacekeepers have been killed on missions.

Dunford said it was a "personal priority for me" to improve the discipline and professionalism of the missions, which have been plagued by charges of corruption and sexual assault against local populations. "I think it's clear to all of us that the U.N's record in this area has been mixed -- and there's a lot of reasons for that mixed record -- but chief among them is the hard reality that U.N. peacekeeping missions deal with some of the most challenging and protracted issues on the planet," he said. "But while many of the challenges are due to the nature of the conflicts, there's other challenges that should concern us all. Problems of ill-disciplined units conducting criminal acts, including sexual assault, problems with corruption, and shortfalls in equipment cannot be blamed on the environment," he said.

Dunford said the need for U.N. peacekeeping missions was likely to grow to meet the challenges of spreading global terrorist networks and transnational threats. "No nation today can turn away and consider violent extremism somebody else's problem. We have many examples of how the fight can follow us home from fragile states in the form of terrorist acts and the mass migration of those seeking to escape violence," Dunford said. "Just as the character of war has changed, the nature of U.N. peacekeeping missions has changed," the general added. "Today, two-thirds of all blue-helmeted peacekeepers are serving in active conflict areas, a trend that in my estimation is likely to continue well into the future."

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2...s-dunford.html