ROMNEY WORDSWORTH - Thirty women marines have tried, and thirty have failed—by huge margins. I am referring to the U.S. Marine Corp’s Infantry Officer Course, and it has to be passed by any officer who aspires to lead marines in combat.
The latest woman to drop out of the course did so on the 11th day of a 13 week program. In other words, she didn’t get very far. But out of the thirty women who have tried, getting to day eleven turns out to be above average. The longest any women have lasted (two) was to get to day 18. That’s the third week of a 13 week course.
What’s causing the early washouts? Two things: Hikes of several miles in full packs, and doing pull ups. First let’s talk about the pull ups. The Marines have already heavily watered down this requirement to a mere THREE pull ups. That’s right, just three!
According to a Marine Corps study conducted in 2013, out of 318 women marines, the average number of completed pull ups was 1.63. A total of 55% of women marines cannot meet the standard of three pullups. Out of those who did manage 3 pull ups, 20% cheated with an extra lower body motion, called “kipping.” That used to not count as a real pull up, but the Obama Administration is willing to cut any corners it needs to in order to achieve the political goal of women in combat.
So what, you say? Who cares if women can’t do pull ups? In combat your life can depend on it. Pull ups are a proxy test for being able to haul your ass over an obstacle and get into cover under fire. If you can’t do this, then any vertical wall can mean automatic death. Bullets don’t give a damn if you are a man or a woman, or if you got your command through affirmative action. Besides walls, there are too many scenarios to count where pulling yourself up over a vertical obstacle may be required, from foxholes to the ruins of bombed out buildings, climbing up on a tank or landing craft, and everything in between. The Marines, of all the service branches outside of Special Forces, are expected to be able to thrive in harsh combat environments, and hand to hand combat.
Combat Marines are not push button warriors. If you want to do that, fly a drone for the Airforce.
What is the Pentagon doing about the pull up “problem”? Why, water down the standards, of course! Women are now being allowed to do something called a “Flexed Arm Hang” in lieu of a pull up. But hanging by your arms is pretty much the exact opposite of what a pull up is, and hanging by your arms isn’t ever going to get you over a vertical obstacle, or up a long rope ladder to evacuate by helicopter.
As for the hiking test, the women were given a second chance to pass. They failed twice! But these failures are actually even worse than they seem at first blush. Consider that women marines already represent the fittest one percent of all American women. They are as athletic, muscular, strong, and as in shape as any woman can hope to be. And the crème de la crème of American womanhood can NOT pass the IOC. There is just no denying the biological wall that exists between men and women, and no amount of sophistry by the College Feminist Class is going to change that reality.
At the same time, the U.S. Army announced last week that it has commissioned 22 women as infantry and armor combat officers. There is only one way they got there: They watered down the physical requirements and bent the rules to pass these gals along. When these women are actually thrown into a combat situation, they won’t have the stamina to keep up with their male troops. Morale will suffer, and the safety of soldiers will be put at risk, as always happens when a squad has to cover for a weakling in the ranks.
How many will die for this so-called political victory?