View Full Version : Army Orders Soldiers to Wear Fake Breasts and 'Empathy' Bellies
Army Orders Soldiers to Wear Fake Breasts and 'Empathy' Bellies
http://nation.foxnews.com/us-army/2012/02/16/army-orders-soldiers-wear-fake-breasts-and-empathy-bellies
IS THIS WHAT IT HAS ALL COME TO?
"CAMP ZAMA, Japan – The Army is ordering its hardened combat veterans to wear fake breasts and empathy bellies so they can better understand how pregnant soldiers feel during physical training.
This week, 14 noncommissioned officers at Camp Zama took turns wearing the “pregnancy simulators” as they stretched, twisted and exercised during a three-day class that teaches them to serve as fitness instructors for pregnant soldiers and new mothers..........................."
True this is for soldiers so they can serve as fitness instructors but...............................
OMFG...I'm glad I retired when I did.
I feel for those folks...
Streck-Fu
02-16-2012, 16:35
....a three-day class that teaches them to serve as fitness instructors for pregnant soldiers and new mothers..........................."
When I read the headline, I thought "WTF?!" but with this sentence, meh. I don't think it's necessary to simulate being preggers , but it's not like they are making everyone do it.
If they would have been PT-ing, they would not have gotten pregnant in the first place!
Flutter kicks...begin!
Can required DADT empathy be far behind? :eek:
I hear strenuous physical activity can be hell on hair product. ;)
Well, they ought to make female paratroopers wear a fake penis/scrotum when the put on a Parachute harness.
You can sympathize not empathize.
What goofy shit.
Dozer523
02-16-2012, 19:09
What goofy shit. Yup, but it'd sure be funny to watch.
"Does this go up or down, does it matter what side? WHAT IS this anyway?
Oh Bullsh!t! All the ones I've seen don't look anything like this!
Well, they ought to make female paratroopers wear a fake penis/scrotum when the put on a Parachute harness.
You can sympathize not empathize.
What goofy shit.
I was thinking the exact same thing. All female recruits should be required to strap a 14" long ham bone and two oranges to their crotch so they can feel what it's like to be a paratrooper. :D
Shades of LTG (Ret) "COO" Kennedy...
I'm sorry to be missing all this kinda stuff. No, really! Hey, you guys stop laughing back there! :rolleyes:
Richard :munchin
Badger52
02-17-2012, 10:06
Yup, but it'd sure be funny to watch.
"Does this go up or down, does it matter what side? WHAT IS this anyway?
Oh Bullsh!t! All the ones I've seen don't look anything like this!"The rose goes in the front, big guy."
- "Crash" Davis
;)
mojaveman
02-17-2012, 11:30
Sounds like the Army is turning into a real three ring circus...
I'd like to see some of these crazy ideas in practice.
PedOncoDoc
02-17-2012, 11:48
This effort sounds like an excellent demotivational poster in the making. :rolleyes:
...maybe we can incorporate this into the new new PT test
mojaveman
02-17-2012, 15:29
to strap a 9" long ham bone on
I fixed that for you. ;)[/QUOTE]
And I fixed that for you so how about a compromise? :D :p
John_Chrichton
02-17-2012, 16:12
...maybe we can incorporate this into the new new PT test
WTF :eek:
4 mile run while wearing fake breasts and "empathy bellies". I'd be afraid of losing my balance the entire time if those things swing from side to side.
But seriously, being new, can someone explain to me why the Army allows its soldiers to be pregnant and still be in the service? When I first saw a pregnant woman wearing soft shoes and special ACUs I was shocked. Is the Army really that desperate for people that it can afford to let a soldier be non combat-effective for 9 months? I don't mean to sound harsh, but is the Army a social welfare organization that it forces its leaders to engage in this farcical behavior to "empathize"?
The Reaper
02-17-2012, 17:45
WTF :eek:
4 mile run while wearing fake breasts and "empathy bellies". I'd be afraid of losing my balance the entire time if those things swing from side to side.
But seriously, being new, can someone explain to me why the Army allows its soldiers to be pregnant and still be in the service? When I first saw a pregnant woman wearing soft shoes and special ACUs I was shocked. Is the Army really that desperate for people that it can afford to let a soldier be non combat-effective for 9 months? I don't mean to sound harsh, but is the Army a social welfare organization that it forces its leaders to engage in this farcical behavior to "empathize"?
Obviously, yes.
TR
Peregrino
02-17-2012, 18:31
WTF :eek:
4 mile run while wearing fake breasts and "empathy bellies". I'd be afraid of losing my balance the entire time if those things swing from side to side.
But seriously, being new, can someone explain to me why the Army allows its soldiers to be pregnant and still be in the service? When I first saw a pregnant woman wearing soft shoes and special ACUs I was shocked. Is the Army really that desperate for people that it can afford to let a soldier be non combat-effective for 9 months? I don't mean to sound harsh, but is the Army a social welfare organization that it forces its leaders to engage in this farcical behavior to "empathize"?
One of the only serious complaints I've had about the 18 X-ray program - you haven't got a clue how good you've got it in SF. Don't fail out; the culture shock might just kill you.
John_Chrichton
02-17-2012, 19:08
One of the only serious complaints I've had about the 18 X-ray program - you haven't got a clue how good you've got it in SF. Don't fail out; the culture shock might just kill you.
Believe me sir, I try to appreciate every moment I've got in this program. Stories like this shock, adding fear and motivation to succeed.
WTF :eek:
4 mile run while wearing fake breasts and "empathy bellies". I'd be afraid of losing my balance the entire time if those things swing from side to side.
But seriously, being new, can someone explain to me why the Army allows its soldiers to be pregnant and still be in the service? When I first saw a pregnant woman wearing soft shoes and special ACUs I was shocked. Is the Army really that desperate for people that it can afford to let a soldier be non combat-effective for 9 months? I don't mean to sound harsh, but is the Army a social welfare organization that it forces its leaders to engage in this farcical behavior to "empathize"?
I will agree that the whole belly and boobs thing is rediculous. About as rediculous as the rest of your statement.:rolleyes: By all means lets get rid of EVERYONE that has a medical issue. How about the guy that breaks a femur jumping out of the back of a C-17? We know he's going to be combat ineffective for quite a while. Or how about getting rid of my old O6 who fractured 3 vertibrae in his neck a few years ago on a jump? He was in the hospital for quite a while as well as recovery time at home. Can't waste our time with him anymore because he was combat ineffective for close to 18 months. Or how about the NCOs that don't have knees anymore for one reason or another. We don't need them anymore do we?
Or were you just thinking about women who are knocked up because it is easier to visually see they are combat inneffective.
Hate to be the one to enlighten you, but we stopped being chained to the stove circa 1975 as far as DoD is concerned.
alright4u
02-19-2012, 05:00
I will agree that the whole belly and boobs thing is rediculous. About as rediculous as the rest of your statement.:rolleyes: By all means lets get rid of EVERYONE that has a medical issue. How about the guy that breaks a femur jumping out of the back of a C-17? We know he's going to be combat ineffective for quite a while. Or how about getting rid of my old O6 who fractured 3 vertibrae in his neck a few years ago on a jump? He was in the hospital for quite a while as well as recovery time at home. Can't waste our time with him anymore because he was combat ineffective for close to 18 months. Or how about the NCOs that don't have knees anymore for one reason or another. We don't need them anymore do we?
Or were you just thinking about women who are knocked up because it is easier to visually see they are combat inneffective.
Hate to be the one to enlighten you, but we stopped being chained to the stove circa 1975 as far as DoD is concerned.
Glad I left in 75.
the squid
02-19-2012, 20:01
WTF :eek:
4 mile run while wearing fake breasts and "empathy bellies". I'd be afraid of losing my balance the entire time if those things swing from side to side.
But seriously, being new, can someone explain to me why the Army allows its soldiers to be pregnant and still be in the service? When I first saw a pregnant woman wearing soft shoes and special ACUs I was shocked. Is the Army really that desperate for people that it can afford to let a soldier be non combat-effective for 9 months? I don't mean to sound harsh, but is the Army a social welfare organization that it forces its leaders to engage in this farcical behavior to "empathize"?
Because if we're going to let women into the military, it would be a gigantic waste of money and resources to spend all of that time training and developing female Soldiers, NCOs, and Officers, only to give them their pink slip when they get pregnant. And it's unrealistic to ask a woman not to get pregnant while they're in the military, especially for the women who decide to make the military a career. Men impregnate women, male Soldiers impregnate women, it just so happens that by virtue of their gender they're not tasked with carrying the consequences of their decisions around with them for 9 months.
I'm not a QP, not even close, but as an infantry PL in a coed Combined Arms Battalion, don't think that I'm not without a dog in this fight. My success is largely based on the quality of my NCOs, and they're good, and then to see the other side of the coin when my platoon is tasked to run a zero range for mostly Headquarters and FSC soldiers. The differences are stark. I don't advocate women in the Infantry, but I think what you're advocating is extreme.
That being said, reading this article makes me seriously question the tooth to tail ratio in the Army.
Edited to add: I tread lightly in your house gentlemen. If I offer up my opinion without cause, I apologize.
Some of the best and worst soldiers I ever served with were men and women - one day we'll probably add androids to that list.
And so it goes...
Richard :munchin
I was thinking the exact same thing. All female recruits should be required to strap a 14" long ham bone and two oranges to their crotch so they can feel what it's like to be a paratrooper. :D
C'mon now, that's some serious wishful thinking... :D:D
On a different note, I have a hard time seeing the meaning of it. Why would soldiers need to feel empathy for a pregnant woman in order to be better at their job?
Why would soldiers need to feel empathy for a pregnant woman in order to be better at their job?Answers to your question are provided in the article linked in the OP as well as an article posted at the on-line edition of Stars and Stripes, here (http://www.stripes.com/news/soldiers-don-fake-belly-breasts-to-better-understand-pregnant-troops-exercise-concerns-1.168786).
I was thinking the exact same thing. All female recruits should be required to strap a 14" long ham bone and two oranges to their crotch so they can feel what it's like to be a paratrooper. :D
C'mon now, that's some serious wishful thinking... :D:D
IRT women strapping a unit, proponents of that idea might want to check to see how #pegging is trending on Twitter and Tumblr before proceeding to the proof of concept phase of the project. (Caveat: this topic centers around women's empowerment and is definitely NSFW. :eek:)
The article still doesn't tell me how empathy towards a pregnant woman would make a soldier better at soldiering. :confused:
And with all due respect, I believe you missed the core of my joke. The 14" was the wishful thinking. :)
LongWire
02-20-2012, 20:24
I'm wondering if they make the female soldiers who have never been pregnant, wear a modified belly suit to train them as well?
Renegade
02-21-2012, 07:11
This is right up there when a female LTC told me if I really wanted to be sensitive to female Soldiers I'd carry tampons in my ammo pouches just in case they needed one!:(
PedOncoDoc
02-21-2012, 08:03
I'm wondering if they make the female soldiers who have never been pregnant, wear a modified belly suit to train them as well?
I think this is a very important question - it directly addresses whether the intent is to "feminize" the males, or are they trying to help those overseeing the training (regardless of gender) learn how to push pregnant women to meet physical standards???
Regarding such 'intentions' as the topic of this thread - I tend to think the olde adage of "let no good deed go unpunished" remains pretty much as valid today as it ever has.
And so it goes...
Richard :munchin
Sierra, did you actually read the article? The reason the men are wearing the bellies is that they are learning how to teach exercise classes to pregnant soldiers.
They're not running around doing PT in the bellies, they're not going out into combat with them, for Chrissake.
Sigaba, re pegging: ROFLMAO!!!Bet they would be happier with my characterization of the hambone if that were the case
Yes M'am, I did. And as much as I appreciate a soldier's ability to correct a pregnant comrade's wrong beliefs and habits when it comes down to calisthenics , I still don't see the benefits of empathy towards pregnant women applied to soldiering.
Why am I insisting on it? Because I believe that it's just a diversion of focus and resources from making the correct set of skills available to personnel who will most likely face combat situations during the course of their professional life.
Dozer523
02-21-2012, 18:28
I still don't see the benefits of empathy towards pregnant women applied to soldiering. Well of course you don't. That's why it's called empathy. Maybe someone will let you try it on.
Anyway . . . Back when MRFL was totally preg'd with BCMU, MRFL worked out on a stairmaster through the entire 9 months and 6 days (up to and including SP). She knocked out three sets of the 7 highest mountains - one on each continent (there was a chart with stars and EVERYthing!:cool:).One of our friends was a pharmacutical salesman and one time during the last month he waddles in withthis thing on and gets on the stairmaster next to MRFL. Ha HAHA HAHAHA til he damn near had a heart attack. Then it really got funny cuz a bunch of guys tried it on too and gave it a go (and got thier butts kicked)
The guys weren't trying to run her out of the gym, they just want to know what it was like to be her. And after they found out , they were even more glad not to be.
But there was a little respect. And that my friend is "empathy".
MRFL = MY Reason For Living, BCMU = Bright Center of My Universe
PedOncoDoc
02-21-2012, 18:55
Well of course you don't. That's why it's called empathy. Maybe someone will let you try it on.
Anyway . . . Back when MRFL was totally preg'd with BCMU, MRFL worked out on a stairmaster through the entire 9 months and 6 days (up to and including SP). She knocked out three sets of the 7 highest mountains - one on each continent (there was a chart with stars and EVERYthing!:cool:).One of our friends was a pharmacutical salesman and one time during the last month he waddles in withthis thing on and gets on the stairmaster next to MRFL. Ha HAHA HAHAHA til he damn near had a heart attack. Then it really got funny cuz a bunch of guys tried it on too and gave it a go (and got thier butts kicked)
The guys weren't trying to run her out of the gym, they just want to know what it was like to be her. And after they found out , they were even more glad not to be.
But there was a little respect. And that my friend is "empathy".
MRFL = MY Reason For Living, BCMU = Bright Center of My Universe
And to think - that's just the added weight in a funky distribution, not considering the other physiologic changes a pregnant women encounters.
I wonder how the people providing this empathy training are accounting for things such as changes in hemodynamics, water retention, etc...
Utah Bob
02-21-2012, 19:10
That's hot.
Well of course you don't. That's why it's called empathy. Maybe someone will let you try it on.
Anyway . . . Back when MRFL was totally preg'd with BCMU, MRFL worked out on a stairmaster through the entire 9 months and 6 days (up to and including SP). She knocked out three sets of the 7 highest mountains - one on each continent (there was a chart with stars and EVERYthing!:cool:).One of our friends was a pharmacutical salesman and one time during the last month he waddles in withthis thing on and gets on the stairmaster next to MRFL. Ha HAHA HAHAHA til he damn near had a heart attack. Then it really got funny cuz a bunch of guys tried it on too and gave it a go (and got thier butts kicked)
The guys weren't trying to run her out of the gym, they just want to know what it was like to be her. And after they found out , they were even more glad not to be.
But there was a little respect. And that my friend is "empathy".
MRFL = MY Reason For Living, BCMU = Bright Center of My Universe
Good post, the whole empathy gig does make more sense now. I'd lean more on the personal improvement rather than on the soldiering side, though. But at the same time, a good person makes the groundwork for a good professional regardless of the field.
That's why I like exchanging ideas, you never stop learning from others.
Dozer523
02-21-2012, 22:20
That's hot.
HA HAHA HAHAHA :p:D:D
Make up your mind, MRFL or Guy.
It seems the San Francisco version of "Cross-Fit" has made it to the Army? :eek:
LongWire
02-22-2012, 01:57
I don't know.....personally I think that this is a very bad idea. All that it's going to take is one hormonally imbalanced PT freak of nature to completely skew the bell curve.....
"Oh yeah?!!! Well I humped my EmpyBelly for 3 days, and I can tell that you are Slacking!!! Give me 50 more Missy!!!!"
This could end horribly.
Not sure why we can't put the pregnant soldiers into a program that is run and monitored by certified/licensed physical trainers. YMMV........
I found the problem - we've been taught to wear them backwards for all these years. Somebody needs to straighten SWCS out before TRADOC hears about it.
And so it goes...
Richard :munchin
mark46th
02-22-2012, 10:00
If they want soldiers to have man boobs and pot bellies, they should make them drink a couple of cases of beer every day for about 6 months...
Pericles
02-22-2012, 15:58
Somehow, I got the idea that the reason for having an Army is to win wars.
Personal professional development is a worthy goal, but that is not why we have an Army. When the need to have a combat effective organization conflicts with personal career development, guess which needs to give.
This is a reminder of the day I was about an hour into the DADT lecture, and I felt in necessary to look down to see if my uniform still had U.S. Army written on it. That is when I decided I was done.
John_Chrichton
02-22-2012, 19:58
Somehow, I got the idea that the reason for having an Army is to win wars.
Personal professional development is a worthy goal, but that is not why we have an Army. When the need to have a combat effective organization conflicts with personal career development, guess which needs to give.
This is a reminder of the day I was about an hour into the DADT lecture, and I felt in necessary to look down to see if my uniform still had U.S. Army written on it. That is when I decided I was done.
Exactly. Call me a "misogynist" all you want, but I didn't join the United States Army to "empathize". I didn't join for the prospect of having to witness a Senior NCO be ordered to wear artificial female genitalia. This is a mockery of everything a fighting organization stands for. Are we the US Army or a pre-natal clinic? The Army shouldn't sacrifice its fighting spirit for a female's desire to be pregnant and remain in the service.
I can't even believe this is a discussion point.
LongWire
02-22-2012, 20:09
I didn't join the United States Army to "empathize".
I can't even believe this is a discussion point.
Tell me how that works out for you in your SF Career.
You may want to reevaluate the career field that you are entering. It's not all about heads on pikes and women lamenting your departure.............But you should know that because you did some thorough research before you joined right?
Exactly. Call me a "misogynist" all you want, but I didn't join the United States Army to "empathize". I didn't join for the prospect of having to witness a Senior NCO be ordered to wear artificial female genitalia. This is a mockery of everything a fighting organization stands for. Are we the US Army or a pre-natal clinic? The Army shouldn't sacrifice its fighting spirit for a female's desire to be pregnant and remain in the service.
I can't even believe this is a discussion point.
What did you join the military for, if I may ask. How is your reasoning any more valid than mine because I am genetically disposed to carry offspring?
I will also add a thought I remembered last night after I posted. I passed this on to my son when he was on his way to Iraq for the first time. He happened to be part of a Marine TRAP team, which meant he spent most of his tour on his boat, the Bonne Richard. While on their way to the Persian Gulf, the tsunami hit Thailand and they were deverted to help in the humanitarian assistance efforts going on there. His dad and I got and email from him that said "I didn't join the Marine Corps for this. I joined the blow shit up and kill people"
He was still young, 19, and really didn't have a great world view outside of his team. We told him that if that is what he thought the Department of Defense was all about, he made a seriously flawed choice in a career. The DoD is more than blowing shit up and killing people. A vast majority of our time is spent "empathizing" if you will. As well as destroying things, we also build them up.
Right after the Pakistan earthquake, the US had the highest approval rating ever recorded in that country. It wasn't because we went in there to be bad asses, it was because we went in there to help people that couldn't help themselves. Same with Haiti, many of the times we have gone in there, or Japan, or hell the entire European continent after WWII.
We are diplomacy by another name. Sometimes that is getting to break things, but for a majority of the time it is about putting things back together.
Longwire is right, you should maybe take a look at why you joined. YOur thoughts on women not withstanding, it seems you are in for great disappointment in your time in the service, with the posts you have made on this board.
John,
Respecfully as someone who is neither in harms way or subject to having to do this, isn't a lot of this stuff what you make of it? An hour long PT session is just that. On the surface of it I guess empathy is fine, but though I'm not sure of the relative utility of donning an empathy belly either, what is stopping you from running hard, or doing intense calesthenics during that hour, turning it into something of use for you.
Whether here or abroad with foreign cultures there will always be people who foul you, or things that seem pointless, or weird. My $.02 people who achieve high levels across professions ( many a lot less important than defending America) are incremental learners, who take unfair, unfamiliar, or stupid guff they have to deal with as opportunities to exercise mental toughness and focus.
Exactly. Call me a "misogynist" all you want, but I didn't join the United States Army to "empathize". I didn't join for the prospect of having to witness a Senior NCO be ordered to wear artificial female genitalia. This is a mockery of everything a fighting organization stands for. Are we the US Army or a pre-natal clinic? The Army shouldn't sacrifice its fighting spirit for a female's desire to be pregnant and remain in the service.
I can't even believe this is a discussion point.
John,
You might want to learn about COIN. You should also get used to not liking things and just doing them anyway.
CW
Dozer523
02-23-2012, 12:57
It's not all about heads on pikes and women lamenting your departure............. Ahhhhhhh, the good old days . . . sigh.
the squid
02-23-2012, 13:15
Exactly. Call me a "misogynist" all you want, but I didn't join the United States Army to "empathize". I didn't join for the prospect of having to witness a Senior NCO be ordered to wear artificial female genitalia. This is a mockery of everything a fighting organization stands for. Are we the US Army or a pre-natal clinic? The Army shouldn't sacrifice its fighting spirit for a female's desire to be pregnant and remain in the service.
I can't even believe this is a discussion point.
I'm not qualified to speak on things on the SOCOM side of the house, but if, God forbid you get hurt and end up in the big Army, you're going to have to evaluate your outlook, because if you don't, you're going to get jaded really quickly.
I'm not even talking about killing people. I'm talking about how I don't even try to plan training for my dismounted soldiers 6 weeks out because it seems like we've always got to update isoprep or medpros or do an SRP or vehicle inspections or 4 day counselings.
That's why I love going to the field.