It is reported that female U.S. Marines are not able to do one basic function of their Physical Fitness Test.  That exercise is pull-ups.  Since the requirement is 3 pull-ups, the U.S. Marine Corp. has announced that the January 1, 2014 deadline for all female Marines to meet the 3 pull-up requirement is now being delayed.  Female Marines are required to simply do the flexed-arm hang where they see how long they can hang on to a bar with their chin level with the horizontal bar.  According to a Marine spokesman, 55% of female Marines could not do the mandatory 3 pull-ups, as opposed to 1% of males not able to do so.  Pull-ups are considered extremely necessary to demonstrate upper-body strength that would enable Marines to carry fallen soldiers who have been wounded in combat.  It also shows they are able to carry heavy munitions needed on the field of combat to fight the enemy.  U.S. Marines are required to carry a pack that weighs 90lbs, with gunners carrying an additional 60lbs for a total of 150lbs.  Most females don't even weigh 150lbs.  Women are to be allowed into combat zones in 2016.  The fact over half of females not having the strength necessary to do simple pull-ups raises questions if they are physically capable of handing the physical rigors needed in combat.

I'm all for equality for women.  How can you not be?  However, despite left-wing utopian ideas of women being able to do anything men can do, it all comes down to a basic question of the differences in strength.  For the most part, women are no match for a man physically speaking.  That should be common sense.  A woman is going to be required to carry her own weight in munitions, backpack, and weapons.  Most will never be able to do this.  She will be required to carry a man at least her own weight in a combat zone.  Common sense dictates that men usually weigh more than women.  So, will the average woman be able to carry someone 40 to 50lbs heavier than themselves?  Not without a tremendous amount of strength training not currently being offered.  Even then, there is no guarantee that a woman can carry the "dead weight" of a fallen soldier.  When it comes to intelligence, coordination, application, weapon firing, women are, at the very least, the equal of men.  But, it comes down to a basic question, once again, of strength in combat.  In many cases, over the history of warfare, we have seen combatants engaged in hand-to-hand combat.  Can a woman hold her own in these situations?  Granted, martial arts taught today are not necessarily all about strength.  In fact, Israeli female soldiers have been in combat for several years.  But, even there, women are not required to carry as much gear as men.  In combat, no exceptions should be made.  A unit is only as strong as its weakest link.  That's not to say any combat unit is weak due to women in a fighting role.  The question boils down to how safe our troops are in combat with women playing key roles.  This is a question that has yet to be answered.

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