With an exception to a long-standing Pentagon policy, female Marines in the ranks of captain, gunnery sergeant and staff sergeant will be permitted to serve in combat arms units below the division level.
But don’t expect to see women in infantry battalions yet. The Corps is only cracking the door open for women at this point and will place them in units through the normal assignment process in staff positions for select military occupational specialties newly opened up for female officers and enlisted women.
Marines assigned to combat arms battalions will begin seeing women occupying these staff positions sometime in May and after an unspecified period of evaluation, more positions could open up.
Also in this week’s issue, find out more about the possibility of extra Korea deployments, the cuts in bonus money for pilots and read the story of one grunt’s six hours of hell and the award he earned for going through it.
10 Comments
I’m all for equality. But, women in combat…I don’t know. In our culture men have an instinct to protect women. Or they should. Also, privacy issues come into play.
Gina C. as an inbed reporter will bring a special insight to this topic!
If women want to serve in the same roles, then work to be held to the same stardard. Until women can do the same PFT and every other physical challenge as their male counterparts they will not be the same.
We are talking about two major differences; physical and physiological. When women can do the following sports with and against men, I will buy the idea.
Football
Rugby
Hockey.
Boxing.
I mean wide spread participation, not isolated examples. The armed forces will also have to stop gender norming. What are we to do with the men? How are we going to stop biological drives? Not merely mental, but serious physical urges?
No military in the world, including Israel, consistently deploys women in combat arms.
Men and women don’t act in the same fashion. Ask anyone who coaches teams. Do they use the same method with the girls and the boys?
I believe that women serve a valuable role in our nation’s defense. Women can be brave and can kill, if necessary. Neither the male nor the female is inferior or superior. We are just different. Why does the enemy know this better than us? Will he sign on to gender diversity?
One last question-If we ever have a draft, will we include women?
I repeat; Woman can be brave and kill. They should be trained to use weapons in combat. Will the armed forces of America defend us better and destroy the enemy in a more lethal fashion, if woman serve in combat? I tend to doubt it.
Food for thought.
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A marine is going to be wounded and bleed out because a 110 lb female cannot carry him to safety, It’s not about women’s rights, it’s about physical abilities. Also, I wonder how she had time to put on eyeliner in this picture.
In Canada, women who meet the physical requirements to be deployed in a combat role do so. Any woman who gets past the trades training but doesn’t maintain that standard doesn’t deploy in that role. And for the record I’m a 130lbs medic and I can drag a 215lbs soldier, plus kit any distance you ask.
Don’t knock it till you try it folks!
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I am glad to hear so many call for equality in the Corps with regard to women. I say let’s do it: (1) grooming standard, (1) uniform, (1) PFT standard, (1) CFT standard for all Marines regardless of gender. To do otherwise, is to continue to discriminate against males and females in the Corps.