Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Seaver
If women were held to the exact same physical standards as men I would not mind them serving together. This split standards, however, do not help either side.
|
In the same stance that you are looking at Seaver, Not all MEN are held to the same physical standards either. As current standards show, there are different age requirements. i.e. as you get older, the standards drop. You are allowed longer times to complete runs, not required to complete as may pullups/situps as younger males.... So the standard changes as we get older, to allow for "weakening" of the body. So why shouldn't we allow a lower standard for women, and yet allow them to serve in the SAME situations as their male counterparts? We allow older, weaker men to do it? I know of a former Gunny of mine who couldn't pull a charging handle on a .50 cal, yet he was still allowed to serve in combat, just not as a machine gunner.
I know of a marine in bootcamp with me who was all of 100 lbs, and 5'4" tall, but he was still allowed in. He couldn't operate some of the heavy machinery, and was unable to properly fit in a tank, so he was denied going to Tanker school, but still allowed to serve in a combat zone. I personally served with a Woman Marine who was a small gal, and didn't look like she could do much, but she sure as hell seemed to do a good job running the machine gun on top of the Hummer durring the wargames in 1990. She operated, loaded, and accurately fired that thing better than any of the men in our unit!
I almost feel sorry for those who don't want women to serve. Why not? Do we want to horde all the glory for saving our country to the men? Personally I think it is a pride thing. I think too many men out there can't handle it if a woman can outperform them in a job. But hey, that's my opinion.