It’s about time somebody took a stand — and it happened in Britishland, too:
Woman who failed frontline infantry fitness test given a ‘pass’ by the Army until furious male soldiers who HAD completed course staged rebellion
Corporal Daisy Dougherty was hoping to become one of the Army’s first female infantry instructors following the landmark decision last year to let women join combat units and Special Forces.
The first stage in the selection process required her to prove her fitness by completing an eight-mile march in under two hours over arduous terrain while carrying a heavy pack and a rifle.
Despite being a qualified personal fitness trainer and a member of the Army’s athletics squad, the 29-year-old took too long to finish the challenge. Under course rules, she should have been immediately ejected and sent back to her unit.
But Cpl Dougherty – the only woman on the course – and 14 others who also failed were told they could carry on, sparking a furious backlash among the 75 soldiers who passed the test.
The soldiers rounded on commanders at the Infantry Battle School in Brecon, Mid-Wales, accusing them of lowering standards to suit women. When top brass refused to back down, troops contacted The Mail on Sunday to expose what they claimed was ‘positive discrimination’.
Fearing a public backlash if they allowed her result to stand, commanders backed down and asked Cpl Dougherty and the other soldiers who failed the march to leave.
Read the whole article, because there’s some equally-good news about the Paras towards the end of it. (Ex-Para Mr. Free Market, for one, is chortling into his morning gin even as we speak.)
I repeat, for the umpteenth time: women have no place in combat units. Period, end of statement, end of story.
A comment: in December, 1944, General Patton moved his troops nearly 100 miles to attack the Germans and break the siege at Bastogne. Granted, many of his troops traveled in trucks and other vehicles, but many also walked the distance after coming out of one battle, and entered a new battle without rest.
there were no female commanders at any level, there was no “Womyn’s Brigade.”
In 1991, the 7th Marines infiltrated almost 50 miles into Kuwait on foot with all their gear over 3 nights. Then ambushed Iraqi units moving to attack the mech columns.
I agree – ground combat is no place for the ladies.
The word “asked” pretty much sums up the problem. You don’t ask someone who didn’t make the cut to return to their unit; you tell them.
A mid20s marine told me that when they are in the field, they now mix male and female. As part of rotating duty while in the field, they have to clean up the trash. He was disgusted about the number of condoms found. Not because he disdains such activites…..but when they in the field, there are no baths, real way to clean off. You are pig wallow filthy head to toe, inside and out, and generally exhausted. If you have energy for sex, you are dogging it somewhere else.
See bits and pieces of Kratmans Carrera books for how it could possibly affect moral.
There are other worse stories, but bottom line is…..everyone should have weapons training, hands on, and know what to do in a pinch, but women (and truely) children (biologically, not legally), should never be in combat. IF they are, either you are losing badly, or you lost the psy ops.
In my book I posit a highly anomalous female marine gunnery sergeant who is physically far out enough on the bell curve to have passed the same fitness tests as men. It’s one of the reasons why I call it science fiction.
You know why they speak Queen’s English in Northern Ireland?
Paras!