Leon Panetta lifts ban on women in combat.

[GoneBallistic]

Last time I checked, there was no part of the PT test that included carrying a pack so heavy you can barely put it on by yourself for 5 days through the Afghan green zone (farm land). I did this my last deployment. It sucked. I was in great shape and it was still horrible. Needless to say, there were no women in Marine Corps infantry units in 2011. Had there been, some of us would have been carrying their packs. I went on a couple of patrols prior to above operation where a Female Engagement Team was present. They had no concept of combat operations and could barely carry THEMSELVES in nothing more than a flak and kevlar. Had I gotten hit while on this patrol, there's no way in hell any of these women could have carried/drug me to safety.

 

As stated before, there is much more involved here than the physical aspect. Pulling the trigger on a human being is a hard thing to do. Especially if it is a child. From what I have generally seen, women have a lot harder time doing this than men. When the lives of an entire squad are on the line, such as an attack by a suicide bomber, this is a risk that simply can't be taken.

 

Another problem here is the protective instinct men have over women. I've seen several men wounded in combat. While my heart and soul were with them, I was still able to do my job and clear the LZ for the chopper, hold security, and whatever else needed to be done. Had that been a woman laying on the ground missing both legs and bleeding out, it would have been much harder for me and every other male Marine not to be over there trying to help the corpsman whether he needed it or not.

 

Furthermore, there is the problem of living accomodations. While this is not a problem stateside or on major bases in theatre, it would have been a HUGE problem for my unit in Afghanistan. During my whole deployment, myself and the rest of my infantry squad stayed in Afghan buildings that we had taken over. These were very primitive and cramped conditions. On the operation I mentioned above, at times there was barely enough room for all of us to bed down, much less a private space for women. Besides, we had other stuff to worry about. We were in combat.

 

Basically folks, this is a matter of national security, not some feel-good policy with no consequences to give everyone a warm and fuzzy. I have only mentioned a few of the many problems we will encounter with this. The standards will be lowered or waived, making our Armed Forces weaker and less effective overall.

 

Contrary to what you may think, I am not a sexist. I have been there. I have done that. I know what this will do to our Armed Forces.

 

It's time for everyone to put aside all the politically correct bullshit and get down to business. This is the sole protection of America, the greatest nation on Earth. Lets not screw it up.