Will Strength Training be an Obstacle for Female Combat Troops?

  The debate over whether women should serve in infantry and other direct ground combat roles has come to this: Are they physically strong enough?

Now I know that most women don't naturally have the strength that men posses but I know how relevant this is to combat duty. I know that the Army Ranger school has upgraded its training so that actual obstacle courses and combat drills are designed to skills needed during combat.

Military services have launched an extensive effort to verify the specific physical requirements needed to succeed in each of dozens of fields that had been closed to women. This is going to require massive revamping and rethinking of current training techniques and tactics. I believe that in the end the quality of training will be improved for all of our troops whether they be male or female.

As it opens the new fields, the military said it will apply the same standards to men and women and will not lower requirements. This is critical because there is no compromise that can be made for what combat troops have to accomplish during ground fighting.

Artillery shells used to weigh as much as 100 pounds. Artillerymen had to be able to load and unload them from trucks and onto howitzers. When artillery is needed by infantry troops on the ground there is no excuse that can possibly be offered for not being able to provide it.

Troops who handle the ammunition have to have a lot of stamina because there may be times when they have to perform at this level over a od of time. They won't have the luxury to take time off because actual combat won't show any mercy or give any breaks.

Other requirements are more complex. An infantryman carries an average of 100 pounds of gear on his back, but other questions are more subjective. For example, how far should he be required to walk with that load or what height wall should he be able to scramble over?

That infantryman may be required to fight while wearing that rucksack and if it hinders him or her too much life will be lost. He may be required to dash  across short areas of open terrain wearing the ruck. He may also have to walk for miles in 100 plus degree weather before actually coming into contact with the enemy.

The military will probably do a serious job of reevaluating standards for combat troops and what they actually need to be able to do. They will also have to insure that training and tests are not biased to give males any type of unfair or unjustified advantage.

I believe that all of our troops will adapt well to this latest change. It will require some time for it to be fully implemented but in the end we will have a more modern better military force. I applaud those women who will volunteer to serve in combat units but it won't be a cakewalk.  www.militaryringexpress.com