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JJ_BPK
04-20-2012, 07:19
And the Games begin...




Marine Corps to Open Infantry Officer Course to Women. The Corps' Infantry Officer Course will enroll its first female students this year.

April 20, 2012, Stars and Stripes, by Jennifer Hlad

WASHINGTON -- The Marine Corps will soon allow women to attend its school for infantry officers, as part of a larger effort to determine how to expand the role of women in the Corps.

Gen. Joseph Dunford, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, told the Marine Corps Times on Wednesday that the service is in the process of soliciting volunteers to attend the Infantry Officer Course in Quantico, Va.

All Marine infantry officers attend the 10-week course after completing The Basic School. Dunford and other Marine officials have not said what the next steps will be for women who volunteer to attend the school.


http://www.military.com/news/article/marine-corps-to-open-officer-infantry-school-to-women.html?ESRC=eb.nl




Next Week: MARSOC Graduates First Full Class of Female Candidates,, in less than a week... :munchin

afchic
04-20-2012, 08:05
I was wondering how long it would take for this article to make it here:D

Utah Bob
04-21-2012, 09:16
Interesting.

Dusty
04-21-2012, 09:24
Hey, if they can cut it.

No more "Women and children first!" during shipwrecks, though...

alright4u
04-21-2012, 13:03
I was wondering how long it would take for this article to make it here:D

Do you think this is good for women and/or the military?

greenberetTFS
04-21-2012, 13:23
And the Games begin...





Next Week: MARSOC Graduates First Full Class of Female Candidates,, in less than a week... :munchin

Your joking of course,but it will happen only in time.........:(

Big Teddy :munchin

alright4u
04-21-2012, 14:27
Interesting.


When you shove a lomotil down their throat-give them no bath for 5 days, make them carry the standard 20 mags of 5.56 and 18 rounds each on webgear, add two concussion grenades, two smokes, and a WP, plus more. Then you add a 60 mm mortar round to that heavy ruck, add 20 more mags of 5.56, add a claymore, add an extra battery for the radio, add a bandoleer of 100-200 rounds of 7.62 around their neck, add a LAW per rifleman and CO , plus rations and water and no poncho-that is the INFANTRY. Then to wake them up you give them a brown bomber to unload the constipation just like all of us.. And that is not even a claymore, nor food, nor personal items which had best be none, much less first aid, bug juice etc. We did not carry toothpaste or soap in the INFANTRY. You will smell RIPE.

afchic
04-21-2012, 14:35
Do you think this is good for women and/or the military?

If they have to maintain the same standards as the men, I am alright with it. Besides most women in the Marines look like the guys anyway:D

alright4u
04-21-2012, 14:42
If they have to maintain the same standards as the men, I am alright with it. Besides most women in the Marines look like the guys anyway:D

I don't think ladies should be Infantry. I know some very smart women. I do not need to know their smell like a fellow Infantryman. I just like ladies to smell like ladies..

Surgicalcric
04-21-2012, 14:47
If they have to maintain the same standards as the men...

Given the history of gender-norming in every other aspect of the military I wouldn't expect it to be different now.

This is about political favors, so the Commandant can get a nice cushy job post retirement, not about whats good for Marines, women, or the security of our nation.

Pete
04-21-2012, 15:09
Just another crack in the door. Enough hits on it and it swings wide open smashed off the hinges.

At each step of the way glowing reports will be written about how wonderful this, that and the other problem is anything bad and "You must have a leadership issue in your unit." We all know what the end game is - the unknown is how long it will take.

Standards will be different or they will be lowered so proper numbers can pass.

The grunts in the trenches will have to do the heavy lifting on this.

You young stud muffins will have to let the chips fall where they may. No doing for her what you would tell the other guy "Suck it up and drive on."

But I can see those batting eyelashes now - "Pretty Please, I'll make it up to you when we get out of the field."

scooter
04-21-2012, 15:12
Hey, if they can cut it.

No more "Women and children first!" during shipwrecks, though...

The inclusion of women into previously all male combat schools will bring enormous pressure to lower physical standards. What happens when the first five female students are relived for failing physical standards and claim discrimination?

I would like to think that the military hierarchy would display moral courage and say that "The standard is the standard, meet it or leave"..... but my experience teaches me otherwise.

MR2
04-21-2012, 15:21
The inclusion of women into previously all male combat schools will bring enormous pressure to lower physical standards. What happens when the first five female students are relived for failing physical standards and claim discrimination?

Then they join the FBI... :munchin

Buffalobob
04-21-2012, 15:28
Slowly women achieve equal rights despite the enormous opposition to them having equal rights. Democracy and equality are very difficult concepts to be accepted by some people.

Max Planck who was a very famous physicist (Planck's Constant) had an interesting saying.

“A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it. ”

Pete
04-21-2012, 15:39
Slowly women achieve equal rights..........

Equal? Or different?

I've brought this up a few times. Equal would be a Combat Arms PT test where if you pass it male or female you can even be Infantry - if you want. So some females will work towards passing the "ONE" test.

So some Grunt hates the Infantry so he fails the Combat Arms PT test. Will he be treated the same as the females who don't pass? I doubt it.

The Reaper
04-21-2012, 17:00
If they have to maintain the same standards as the men, I am alright with it.

Therein lies the rub.

They can't. It is physiologically impossible.

Let's eliminate women's sports and make all sports any gender. See how well that works before we bet our nation's security on it.

Then start requiring all troops to take the same PT test with the same standards.

Look up Katie Wilder and how she got her Tab. Lawyers and threats of lawsuits. Did she meet the standards? Ola Mize didn't think so.

TR

scooter
04-21-2012, 17:02
Slowly women achieve equal rights despite the enormous opposition to them having equal rights. Democracy and equality are very difficult concepts to be accepted by some people.

Max Planck who was a very famous physicist (Planck's Constant) had an interesting saying.

I will happily accept women into the Infantry when they first allowed into the NFL, MLB, NBA, and all gender separation at the Olympics stop, and everyone has to compete on an equal playing field regardless of gender. Sally can't pitch as fast as Jose? Then she doesn't make the baseball team.

Combat isn't about fairness or equality. If women want to be truly accepted as complete equals in the armed forces, THEY should push for the elimination of the women's standard of scoring on the Physical Fitness Test. Not a merging of male and female standards... the male standards are the lowest common denominator for success in ground combat. You will never see this happen. Women are not, in the aggregate, the physical equals of men. If they were none of the dual standard, separate sports leagues would exist.

That isn't sexism, its the cold hard facts. Trying to dispute it because it sounds harsh and "unfair" isn't a policy that will lead to a better defense of the country.

Surgicalcric
04-21-2012, 17:12
<<<SNIP>>>

Well said hermano, well said.

Crip

Buffalobob
04-21-2012, 17:32
Equal? Or different?

I've brought this up a few times. Equal would be a Combat Arms PT test where if you pass it male or female you can even be Infantry - if you want. So some females will work towards passing the "ONE" test.

So some Grunt hates the Infantry so he fails the Combat Arms PT test. Will he be treated the same as the females who don't pass? I doubt it.

The details are of little interest to me. What I am commenting about is "opportunity to decide yes or no and to try if they wish".

If the progress is similar to the Buffalo Soldiers where you have a separate female infantry brigade then if there are enough of them that want to do it then fine. Design gear and equipment for them that is sized for them. Somehow the little undersized NVA soldiers managed to fight a war without carrying 70 gazzillioin tons of gear on their back. Physical strength didn't seem to be a hindrance that they could not overcome ( much to our dismay).

The Reaper
04-21-2012, 18:01
The details are of little interest to me. What I am commenting about is "opportunity to decide yes or no and to try if they wish".

If the progress is similar to the Buffalo Soldiers where you have a separate female infantry brigade then if there are enough of them that want to do it then fine. Design gear and equipment for them that is sized for them. Somehow the little undersized NVA soldiers managed to fight a war without carrying 70 gazzillioin tons of gear on their back. Physical strength didn't seem to be a hindrance that they could not overcome ( much to our dismay).

The Buffalo Soldiers were not females. There are hard, cold physiological realities, no matter how much we want to pretend they aren't and sugar coat it.

Are we having trouble recruiting sufficient number of infantrymen? Maybe we should use the draft? Oh, wait, women are not required to register.

We are not in the 1960 or fighting in Vietnam anymore. The days of running light are over for us, at least for the forseeable future.

The load is what it is, for combat arms soldiers. If you can't hump 140 pounds when required to, break track, load a TOW, hang a 120mm mortar round, double as a pack mule, tote a 26 pound machine gun up and down a 30% grade for days on end, carry a buddy 100 meters to safety, or deal with combat in difficult environments, stay on the porch. I don't want to lose soldiers or wars because of social experiments.

When was the last time a female infantry unit kicked ass on a male one?

You think there is a reason for that?

TR

Dusty
04-21-2012, 18:01
27-day workmonth, no high-and-tight...I can just hear the cadence call during PT...

"My boy's got a pair of nads
Like the ones ol' King Kong had"
etc.

I don't know... :D

scooter
04-21-2012, 18:16
The details are of little interest to me.

The details are all I care about, they will make the difference of life and death on this issue. Trying to make unequal things equal is the highest form of discrimination. As I said, if they want to try, ok... they can try. But they have to meet the male PT standards. No latrines in the field. No coming back to the rear to shower. Sexist remark, you say? These things are the norm today in mixed gender units. Ensure they can carry or drag a 300 pound man (because that's about what a fully loaded infantryman weighs, in full kit) 100 yards to safety.

Make equipment their size? Really? Clothing and individual equipment already comes in their size. They make Extra Small SAPI plates. But that mortar tube is the size it is for a reason, it's not getting re-sized for gender equality, bro.

So they can try, if they want to? The second women can fill Infantry billets, some congressman needs to push for the inclusion of women into the Selective Service. Equality isn't an Ala-cart menu. I'm going to get off my soapbox and go cook steak. Flame away.

Peregrino
04-21-2012, 18:18
Personally I think anyone who wants women in the infantry should have to put a uniform on and go to INFANTRY combat with them. And any women that want to be infantry should have to pass the exact same evaluations as men do. And I still won't volunteer to be in their unit. I'm tired of social experiments run by clueless people who think equality is something that can be mandated. Makes me wonder if my nieces' children will have to learn Arabic or Chinese in order to understand their new masters.

Dusty
04-21-2012, 18:38
Makes me wonder if my nieces' children will have to learn Arabic or Chinese in order to understand their new masters.

They've been doing that in Boston for years, from what I was told.

tonyz
04-21-2012, 21:22
They've been doing that in Boston for years, from what I was told.

The Hub...so ahead of the curve.

SF_BHT
04-22-2012, 05:26
My question is why are they not putting women into the enlisted side at the same time?

If they want to lead Infantry they need to be infantry. Hell can not call them a infantryman any more what do we call them? Grunt? Well the political police would not like that..... Hell you know what it could sound like with the wrong accent......;)

scooter
04-22-2012, 09:09
My question is why are they not putting women into the enlisted side at the same time?

Because there is scant interest from enlisted women in becoming combat arms. The push has always been about female officers' inability to reach the top tier of the military hierarchy, as in the Division /Corps / CINC / Joint Staff level. That requires combat arms experience... The study concerning women in combat arms admitted, openly, that THAT was the primary reason to change the policy.

This all but guarantees that the first applicants will be highly politically motivated and see themselves as pioneers, which will lead to all sorts of problems when some don't meet the standard.

Peregrino
04-22-2012, 09:35
Because there is scant interest from enlisted women in becoming combat arms. The push has always been about female officers' inability to reach the top tier of the military hierarchy, as in the Division /Corps / CINC / Joint Staff level. That requires combat arms experience... The study concerning women in combat arms admitted, openly, that THAT was the primary reason to change the policy.

This all but guarantees that the first applicants will be highly politically motivated and see themselves as pioneers, which will lead to all sorts of problems when some don't meet the standard.

NAILED IT!

SF_BHT
04-22-2012, 10:23
Because there is scant interest from enlisted women in becoming combat arms. The push has always been about female officers' inability to reach the top tier of the military hierarchy, as in the Division /Corps / CINC / Joint Staff level. That requires combat arms experience... The study concerning women in combat arms admitted, openly, that THAT was the primary reason to change the policy.

This all but guarantees that the first applicants will be highly politically motivated and see themselves as pioneers, which will lead to all sorts of problems when some don't meet the standard.

You are right and that was where I was wanting the discussion to go. Woooo be the officer that holds back one of those Pioneers.....

Richard
04-22-2012, 11:16
SSDD - sounds to me as if it is a test of sorts to see if and where...if at all.

And so it goes...

Richard :munchin

orion5
04-22-2012, 11:29
Because there is scant interest from enlisted women in becoming combat arms. The push has always been about female officers' inability to reach the top tier of the military hierarchy, as in the Division /Corps / CINC / Joint Staff level. That requires combat arms experience... The study concerning women in combat arms admitted, openly, that THAT was the primary reason to change the policy.

This all but guarantees that the first applicants will be highly politically motivated and see themselves as pioneers, which will lead to all sorts of problems when some don't meet the standard.

As a woman, and an American, this makes me very mad. :mad:

(not at your comment, but at the women and their 'handlers' doing these bullshit experiments)

alright4u
04-22-2012, 17:56
I will happily accept women into the Infantry when they first allowed into the NFL, MLB, NBA, and all gender separation at the Olympics stop, and everyone has to compete on an equal playing field regardless of gender. Sally can't pitch as fast as Jose? Then she doesn't make the baseball team.

Combat isn't about fairness or equality. If women want to be truly accepted as complete equals in the armed forces, THEY should push for the elimination of the women's standard of scoring on the Physical Fitness Test. Not a merging of male and female standards... the male standards are the lowest common denominator for success in ground combat. You will never see this happen. Women are not, in the aggregate, the physical equals of men. If they were none of the dual standard, separate sports leagues would exist.

That isn't sexism, its the cold hard facts. Trying to dispute it because it sounds harsh and "unfair" isn't a policy that will lead to a better defense of the country.

Here is a typical combat mission for a young company grade officer. Your ass has been up all day plus all night on an ambush to provide local security, but; now your unit has a recon team in deep trouble. So, you can let the AG or ADA S-1 lead it regardless if the SF NCO's do not want to follow the SOB, or you can man/woman up and see the SF medics. They hand you two pills called green hornets and tell you to drink coffee.You are suddenly awake. Next thing you know you are flying due west to the border, and; two teams are going in with you to break off, and; you are to set up a blocking force on New Year's Eve to get a team safely back across. Martha Raye is back at your unit. She drinks your Smirnoff, which is real small shit. What is big is your ass did not let those NCO's down or your yards. You do not let idiots lead troops of yours nor do you expect your NCO's to follow them either. Your top NCO was there and you made it, too.

That is a true OP.

Dozer523
04-23-2012, 12:23
Let the Marines take the lead. Fine, good, good luck.
After they figure that out maybe, they can figure out MARSOF.

Dusty
04-23-2012, 12:27
Let the Marines take the lead. Fine, good, good luck.
After they figure that out maybe, they can figure out MARSOF.

Dayeeum! :D

greenberetTFS
04-23-2012, 12:59
Here is a typical combat mission for a young company grade officer. Your ass has been up all day plus all night on an ambush to provide local security, but; now your unit has a recon team in deep trouble. So, you can let the AG or ADA S-1 lead it regardless if the SF NCO's do not want to follow the SOB, or you can man/woman up and see the SF medics. They hand you two pills called green hornets and tell you to drink coffee.You are suddenly awake. Next thing you know you are flying due west to the border, and; two teams are going in with you to break off, and; you are to set up a blocking force on New Year's Eve to get a team safely back across. Martha Raye is back at your unit. She drinks your Smirnoff, which is real small shit. What is big is your ass did not let those NCO's down or your yards. You do not let idiots lead troops of yours nor do you expect your NCO's to follow them either. Your top NCO was there and you made it, too.

That is a true OP.

Absolutely,but it will never happen because they will lower the stranded requirements so they can pass.......:mad:
Let's face it,would you follow a female officer who in combat would yell "Follow me"?...........:rolleyes:

Big Teddy :munchin

Cake_14N
04-23-2012, 13:15
How successful were the female soldiers in your course? The ones I went through with were more interested in batting their eyes at somebody to get them to carry their gear on the land-nav course. Not to mention the incessant trips to the latrines because they refused to pee in the woods with the rest of us...

But....

somebody is going to get another star because of this monumental step forward in progress and the careers of a few select female officers will advance a step or two.

Wolf07
04-23-2012, 13:16
Depends on if she had a nice ass or not.

:) :) :) :)

Richard
04-23-2012, 14:15
After they figure that out maybe, they can figure out MARSOF.

What's MARSOF? Is that the USMC's olympic airsofter team? :rolleyes:

Richard :munchin

greenberetTFS
04-23-2012, 14:35
What's MARSOF? Is that the USMC's olympic airsofter team? :rolleyes:

Richard :munchin

You can take the teacher out of the classroom,but you can't take the classroom out of the teacher...........;)

Big Teddy :munchin

The Reaper
04-23-2012, 17:44
Let the Marines take the lead. Fine, good, good luck.
After they figure that out maybe, they can figure out MARSOF.

Easy, even for Marines.

SOF=$

TR

Sigaba
04-23-2012, 19:18
History is going to repeat its self i am afraid.History never repeats itself. We allow ourselves to think it does because as a society we don't pay enough attention to historiography. (Which can, at times, be repetitive.)

Ghost_Team
04-23-2012, 19:28
Somebody let me know how the first female Marine infantry officer does when she gets to Ranger school.

The Reaper
04-23-2012, 20:14
Somebody let me know how the first female Marine infantry officer does when she gets to Ranger school.

Guaranteed GO, or the lawsuits and Congressionals begin.

TR

Destrier
04-26-2012, 05:52
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/26/boy-field-hockey-star-kicked-off-high-school-girl-team-for-being-too-good/?test=latestnews

He is not a marine or even in the military. I just thought this article was a rather interesting point.

Sarski
04-26-2012, 05:55
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/26/boy-field-hockey-star-kicked-off-high-school-girl-team-for-being-too-good/?test=latestnews

He is not a marine or even in the military. I just thought this article was a rather interesting point.

Funny.:munchin

Utah Bob
04-26-2012, 09:13
People need to be very careful about their pronunciation of Hoooah. :rolleyes:

Richard
04-26-2012, 10:42
Yeah...DI's are gonna have to adjust, too - can't tell 'em to "Man up!" or call 'em a bunch of "p***ies" anymore. :rolleyes:

Richard :munchin

greenberetTFS
04-26-2012, 12:21
Yeah...DI's are gonna have to adjust, too - can't tell 'em to "Man up!" or call 'em a bunch of "p***ies" anymore. :rolleyes:

Richard :munchin

;)

Big Teddy :munchin

ZonieDiver
04-26-2012, 15:30
Yeah...DI's are gonna have to adjust, too - can't tell 'em to "Man up!" or call 'em a bunch of "p***ies" anymore. :rolleyes:

Richard :munchin

May the DIs call them a "Ring-dang-do"?

Richard
04-26-2012, 15:40
May the DIs call them a "Ring-dang-do"?

And to think they'll miss that traditional "Corps experience"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvN0B_0jz5w

Richard :munchin

SouthernDZ
04-27-2012, 05:42
MarineCorpsTimes.com
April 25, 2012

General: USMC Not Giving Women Infantry Jobs

By Rick Maze, Staff writer

Expanded infantry training for women does not mean the Marine Corps is ready to send women into combat assignments, the Corps' top personnel official said Wednesday

“Assignment policy for women has not changed,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Milstead Jr., the deputy commandant for manpower and reserve affairs.

“We are not training women to be infantry officers,” he said. “We do not have that authority. That authority rests with Congress.”

His comments came before the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on personnel, where the panel chairman is Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., a former Navy secretary and Marine combat veteran. Webb said the decision is controversial, and that he will be closely watching.

As Marine Corps Times reported last week, the service is in the midst of an extensive research effort to determine what additional jobs could be opened to women. Plans call for sending an undetermined number of female volunteers to the Infantry Officers Course, a three-month program in Quantico, Va., where Marine officers are groomed to serve in direct combat roles and lead troops into battle.

However, women who successfully complete the course will not receive the Corps’ 0302 infantry officer designation, Marine officials said. Defense Department policy still bars the services from assigning women to jobs whose primary mission is direct ground combat, such as infantry and special operations.

“This is research so our commandant can make an informed recommendation” to Pentagon leadership later this year, Milstead said. That’s expected to happen in November.

The Marine Corps’ research plan also calls for sending enlisted volunteers to its Infantry Training Battalions, conducting a two-day fitness test aimed at establishing “gender-neutral” physical standards, and soliciting feedback from Marines throughout the force.

Additionally, this spring, a number of company-grade officers and staff noncommissioned officers will be assigned to jobs in six types of battalions, billets previously open only to men. Their experiences will help inform the Marine Corps’ recommendation.

http://214.14.134.30/ebird2/ebfiles/e20120427884147.html

Utah Bob
04-28-2012, 17:44
We are not training women to be infantry officers
Then you are wasting money in useless training.

JJ_BPK
04-30-2012, 06:12
Then you are wasting money in useless training.

The Marine Corps’ research plan also calls for sending enlisted volunteers to its Infantry Training Battalions, conducting a two-day fitness test aimed at establishing “gender-neutral” physical standards, and soliciting feedback from Marines throughout the force.

'bout say it all, boss... :rolleyes:


Additionally, this spring, a number of company-grade officers and staff noncommissioned officers will be assigned to jobs in six types of battalions, billets previously open only to men. Their experiences will help inform the Marine Corps’ recommendation.


and the search goes on.... :mad:

Dozer523
04-30-2012, 11:58
However, women who successfully complete the course will not receive the Corps’ 0302 infantry officer designation, Marine officials said. Seriously, there probably are women who could pass the course and would be effective leaders but I cannot image too many of them signing up for all that pain and grief to get all the way through it and then get NOTHING. No one is stupid enough to do that. But, the USMC will claim they opened up the training and; "whaddayaknow, no one showed up!
They ain't gonna figure out MARSOF or MARSOC or whatever it is. Just takin' credit.:( Harry Truman was right.

MTN Medic
04-30-2012, 14:14
"Gernder Neutral PT Tests?" Hot damn, I might get a 1700 on that PT test!:lifter

Dreadnought
04-30-2012, 14:22
After the implementation of CSTs, I'm not really surprised.

Utah Bob
04-30-2012, 15:11
Seriously, there probably are women who could pass the course and would be effective leaders but I cannot image too many of them signing up for all that pain and grief to get all the way through it and then get NOTHING. No one is stupid enough to do that. But, the USMC will claim they opened up the training and; "whaddayaknow, no one showed up!
They ain't gonna figure out MARSOF or MARSOC or MARSUX or whatever it is. Just takin' credit.:( Harry Truman was right.

Well.....we are talking Marines here.:munchin

Dozer523
05-01-2012, 08:10
Well.....we are talking Marines here.:munchinWhen you're right, you're right. How did I miss that?

Flick
05-01-2012, 09:35
There isn't much to say about this except it is disapointing. I'm just saying there is a reason every warrior culture worth acknowledging in history had a force made up of men. It's not "refusing to change with the times" it is just a matter of "don't fix it if it isn't broke."

Crue
10-17-2012, 09:01
By Andrew deGrandpré - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Oct 15, 2012 12:55:21 ED
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2012/10/marine-corps-womem-infantry-officers-course-101512/?fb_comment_id=fbc_431777126881608_4397330_4317941 10213243#f193faa20


The Marine Corps’ effort to evaluate whether more combat jobs should open to women marked another milestone last week when the second of two female volunteers washed out of infantry officer training.

A second lieutenant, she was dropped from the program Friday after failing to complete required training due to unspecified medical reasons, a Marine official told Marine Corps Times. It’s unclear whether she was injured or if she became ill.

The other volunteer, also a second lieutenant, dropped out Sept. 28 after she was unable to complete the program’s introductory combat endurance test. Nearly 30 men also washed out on the first day.

Known as the Infantry Officers Course, the demanding 13-week program is based at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. The current class, which began with 109 students, is the first to have included women. On average, about 25 percent of the men who enroll in IOC fail to complete it and voluntarily withdraw.

The Corps sought female volunteers for the course as part of a broader research effort to assess how female Marines might perform in assignments whose primary mission is direct ground combat — jobs they are prohibited from filling now. Just the two women stepped forward. Marine officials have declined to identify them, citing a desire to protect their privacy.

Upon completing IOC’s combat endurance test in September, the woman dropped from the program Friday issued the following statement via Marine Corps public affairs personnel: “I want to try to open up a door, maybe, for women after me. I don’t know how far it will open, but I’m hoping to make a difference for women down the road.”

At Quantico, those overseeing the IOC experiment have said that it will involve up to 100 female officers and take at least a year to complete. The Marine official, speaking on condition of anonymity, reaffirmed the Corps’ intent to recruit female volunteers for subsequent iterations of the course.

“This was just the first shot,” the official said.

The next IOC will begin this winter. So far, no new volunteers have emerged, said Maj. Shawn Haney, a spokeswoman for Manpower and Reserve Affairs in Quantico, the command leading the Marine Corps’ research. Nevertheless, she said, the experiences of these first two volunteers will prove valuable as senior leaders contemplate potential next moves.

As part of the Corps’ ongoing review, officials have opened nearly 400 jobs in select ground combat units — billets in artillery and tank battalions, among others — to female officers and staff noncommissioned officers. Previously, only men were allowed to fill those jobs. Additionally, Marine officials are exploring whether the service should develop “gender-neutral” physical standards.

Taken together, all of these efforts are expected to inform a recommendation from the Marine Corps to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on what additional changes — if any — should be made. That’s due to the Pentagon in early November.

“All information gathered as part of our quantitative research efforts, to include IOC, will be provided to our senior leaders as part of our recommendation and report,” Haney said. “For IOC specifically, such information includes recruiting of volunteers, volunteer data and performance of those who reported to IOC for training.”

PRB
10-17-2012, 11:48
On an email ring I belong to a retired Marine General just wrote this...don't celebrate until you see the reaction of the military PC's

I realize that the loss of the second female second lieutenant to the IOC
experiment will doubtless light up the boards with adverse
commentary. It should be noted, however, that the problem solution is
obvious and readily at hand. What's wrong? Well, the male standard is what's
wrong. All the Marine Corps need do is lower the male standard, a move that
will save the taxpayer literally millions of dollars currently being lost
through the excessively high male attrition rate. And by golly, there is an
added advantage to this commonsense approach to the extremely serious
problem of the lack of female infantry officers. By lowering the male
standards in order to save the taxpayer millions of dollars, we may well
find that we will have found the "gender neutral" standard we are seeking.
Get it? Two birds, one stone. How great is that?

May God have mercy on this once great nation.

afchic
10-17-2012, 13:06
On an email ring I belong to a retired Marine General just wrote this...don't celebrate until you see the reaction of the military PC's

I realize that the loss of the second female second lieutenant to the IOC
experiment will doubtless light up the boards with adverse
commentary. It should be noted, however, that the problem solution is
obvious and readily at hand. What's wrong? Well, the male standard is what's
wrong. All the Marine Corps need do is lower the male standard, a move that
will save the taxpayer literally millions of dollars currently being lost
through the excessively high male attrition rate. And by golly, there is an
added advantage to this commonsense approach to the extremely serious
problem of the lack of female infantry officers. By lowering the male
standards in order to save the taxpayer millions of dollars, we may well
find that we will have found the "gender neutral" standard we are seeking.
Get it? Two birds, one stone. How great is that?

May God have mercy on this once great nation.

Even I know there is no such thing as gender neutral.

Pete
10-17-2012, 14:15
Since the General is not a member here I'll assume he didn't know about PINK FONT.

Sure reads pink to me - at least I hope so.

PRB
10-17-2012, 22:12
Since the General is not a member here I'll assume he didn't know about PINK FONT.

Sure reads pink to me - at least I hope so.

Nope, but the sarcasm comes thru.

Dozer523
10-18-2012, 08:57
Ranger class 03-13 is right around the corner. Not in pink.