|
There are women out there who can do it. I've known two female Marines that could most certainly do it.
But most can't. Most women can't, and most female servicemembers can't. The simple fact is that the average American male in this age range outweighs the average female by more than 40 pounds, is five inches taller, and has nealy 50% more skeletal muscle-mass. That's not opinion or psychology, that's simple anatomy and physiology. What -that- translates into is much, much lower physical strength and carrying capacity.
Infantrymen carry a LOT of equipment around. 30-70lbs of it, depending on the mission. More if they're a radioman, a machine-gunner, a grenadier, a medic...and what all of -this- translates to is that one average man can usually carry 1.5-2x the weight that an average woman can.
If the machine-gun malfunctions, SOMEone has to be able to get it working again. If the only "someone" able to work on the gun is unable to open the top-cover or rack the charging handle ( as my friend H. witnessed at Boot Camp ), that MG isn't going to get working. Decreased physical strength translates, in combat, to people getting injured or killed. Out of action, it just translates into a -LOT- of resentment and morale problems, when everyone else has to pick up the physically weaker person's slack.
Women can be great soldiers. As irregulars and guerillas, they're unbeatable for a number of reasons. But the physical demands of fighting in the heavily-loaded, mechanized armed forces of a modern superpower are simply beyond the abilities of the majority of women.
That having been said, if they can hack it, they should be allowed to do so. I don't care about sex, as long as they can get the job done. But I also don't care about sex if they -can't- get the job done.
|