Marine study finds women suffer more injuries, shoot less accurately than men

[Yo_Mama]

53. It looks like physical differences predominated.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/280017557/Marine-Corps-gender-integration-research-executive-summary

Body composition: Males averaged 178 lbs, with 20% body fat: females averaged 142 lbs, with 24% body fat

Anaerobic Power: Females possessed 15% less power than males; the female top 25th percentile overlaps with the bottom 25th
percentile for males

Anaerobic Capacity: Females possessed 15% less capacity; the female top 10th percentile overlaps with the bottom 50th percentile of males

Aerobic Capacity (VO2Max): Females had 10% lower capacity; the female top 10th percentile overlaps with bottom 50th
percentile of males

Within the research at the Infantry Training Battalion, females undergoing that entry-level training were injured at more than six-times the rate of their male counterparts

27% of female injuries were attributed to the task of movement under load, compared to 13% for their male counterparts, carrying a similar load.

During the GCEITF assessment, musculoskeletal injury rates were 40.5% for females, compared to 18.8% for males

Of the 21 time-loss injuries incurred by female Marines, 19 were lower extremity injuries and 16 occurred during a movement under load task

Nor were the differences in targeting (hugely germane) at all attributable to training levels:

Male provisional infantry (those with no formal 03xx school training) had higher hit percentages than the 0311 (school trained) females: M4: 44% vs 28%, M27: 38% vs 25%, M16A4w/M203: 26% vs 15%

Graduation rates for infantry training were abysmal:

Infantry Training Battalion graduation rates between Sep 13
–
Jun 15: 144 of 401 female volunteers (36%) as compared to 5448 of 5503 males (99%)

The cost of doing this alone is hard to justify; higher injury rates and lower effectiveness in action make it seem like a terrible idea. Fatigue due to physical differences probably accounts for the poorer hit rates.