Marines Delay Female Fitness Plan After Half Fail

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135. You sure have a lot invested in this for someone not in the armed forces.

This was the very first set of female recruits to take the new test. The whole transition is still in the study phase. Obviously some female recruits can and do reach a point where they can do a great number of pull-ups. Why didn't more female recruits succeed on this very first test? My guess would be problems with the training they received in boot camp. What will you say if the problem is fixed a year from now and the pass rate is much higher?

"The Marines won't close up shop. What they will do is simply not use the wrong people for the job."

If an all-male Marine Corps instituted a new standard that ended up shutting out a significant number of recruits, you think they would just "make do" with a smaller corps or a smaller number for some needed specialty? Ridiculous. They'd study the problem and figure out a resolution so that they could get the numbers they needed.

"What do you think will happen if they figure out a way to make body armor fifty percent lighter? They will take half that weight and hang something else on the best bodies they can find."

Why on earth would they do that when you're the one claiming combat load is already such a problem? Technological changes in any field change the skillsets needed by those working in that field. That's why computer skills have become more desired in the military and equestrianship less so.

"Those exercises were designed to test a soldier to see if he or she can handle the rigors of combat. They don't have the luxury of simply adjusting the standards to suit gender equality."

But according to you that is exactly what they will do. Do you trust those in command to handle this hiccup and ensure that Marines are able to do the jobs that need to be done? It seems like your paranoia that women are going to worm their way into positions they aren't qualified for overrides your faith in the Marine command to use their own expertise to address this appropriately.