Dempsey considers lowering standards for women in combat

| January 26, 2013

Our least favorite Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Martin Dempsey, in his press conference on Thursday along with our least favorite Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, hinted that he just might consider lowering the standards to let women in the jobs which might take them into combat, according to the Washington Times;

When a reporter mentioned that the Pentagon’s stance appeared to keep open the possibility that some occupational specialties would be off limits to females, Gen. Dempsey responded: “[I]f we do decide that a particular standard is so high that a woman couldn’t make it, the burden is now on the service to come back and explain to the secretary, why is it that high? Does it really have to be that high?”

Of course, that’s the one thing they said they wouldn’t do in the beginning of this whole discussion. but, in light of the two female Marines who dropped out of the infantry officers’ course, not because they couldn’t meet the academic standard, but rather because they couldn’t meet the physical standard because of who they are, I guess they’ve had second thoughts.

They know that the social scientists are going to demand to see numbers and the only way to get what they think is equity, they have to lower the standards. But then, That’s what I’ve been saying for years. It’s not like they didn’t know – they’ve always known. They just ignored it so they don’t have to say out loud that women are not equal to men for biological reasons.

Category: Military issues

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Michael in MI

Ex-PH2: I think Michael in MI left out the word “not” in the sentence beginning “So lets say . . . ” and meant to say that the male did not meet the male standards. That’s the only way I can make sense of the word “also” in the sentence that follows.

Yeah, sorry, that’s what I meant to type.

Michael in MI

My point to asking if a female can fail the minimum male standards and be accepted to the military (because the minimum female standards are lower) is that it seems, if that is the case, then the precedent was set years ago for this to happen again with the combat standards.

Beretverde

This can be equated to another version of affirmative action.

Anonymous

Who ever is the first female that makes it to the infantry will be the next SMA mark my words. It will be apolitical appointment just like Mckinny was. It will be based on affirmative action to give women a break while doing away with promotions on merits.

AW1 Tim

There were a lot of folks who were convinced that Kara Hultgren, the Navy’s first combat-certified female pilot, should never have been selected. Scuttlebutt was that the standards were also modified for her and she was paraded all over the TV and magazines, etc. She never finished her first deployment, having been killed during approach to USS Abraham Lincoln.

Of course, the Navy’s confidential board determined it was pilot error, but the results presented to the public suppressed that information and said it was “mechanical failure”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara_Hultgreen

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