The Military/War Thread

[Dak]

http://www.theagonist.org/essays/20...-the-corruption-of-the-american-military.html

Basic School instructors, mine included, liked to say that in the Marine Corps “there is only one standard, the Marine Corps standard.” This is a lie. There are two standards: one for men and one for women. Thus, on the annual Physical Fitness Test, required of all marines, a perfect score for a 21-year-old male is 23 pull-ups, 110 crunches, and a 3-mile time of 18 minutes. For a female of the same age a perfect score is 9 pull-ups, 105 crunches, and a 3-mile time of 21 minutes.

Women also receive special benefits for family life. After giving birth, female marines receive 42 days of non-chargeable leave and can take an additional 12 weeks of maternity convalescent leave. “Secondary caregivers”—that is, fathers—only get 14 days. Female marines can take the 12 weeks of leave at any time in the year after giving birth. Although their duties are interrupted by taking leave, that cannot be used as a factor in determining whether women shall be promoted.

I am not unsympathetic to the needs of new mothers. The plain truth, however, is that women are utterly out of place in the military.

Due to many jobs being relatively nonphysical, and that some jobs are nondeployable, this isn't 100% true. But it's certainly broadly true when one sees the military as an organization built around the application of violent force rather than a jobs program. Also, when acknowledging the adage that the "greatest ability is availability", women are far more likely to be unavailable for one reason or another.

The attempt to shoehorn women into a naturally male profession is the result of ideological enthusiasm, not rational policymaking.