What is your advice for Females joining the ranks of the combat jobs in the Military?

Advice? I would say:

Pay attention (stay the course )
Stay Motivated!!!!
Keep Going (no matter what happens).

Cut your fingernails, bring plenty of baby wipes, showers are a luxury, don't ask for special considerations based on gender, take them if they are available but they wont always be. Train as you fight. Have as much fun with it as possible. Obstacles are meant to be overcome and you will have plenty of them. Take each one as they come and don't worry about the outcome as much as you should worry about mentally preparing and giving it your all. Finally, Combat arms is all about the Soldiers to your left and right. You and your peers should never make it about male and female. When times get tough it wont matter if you are male, female or whatever, its about being their for each other.

As a 12B here's my two cents. Expect to be judge harder than your peers. You are attempting to enter hallowed grounds. You will have those who believe that you do not belong there. I don't care what century we are in, it's just a matter of fact. Do not expect special treatment, in fact expect to be treated harder (see above). Do not use your gender as a crutch. It will just piss off those mentioned above. If you just do what is asked of everyone else you should be good. Expect to be offended. I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying it will happen. Expect it. You are going in uncharted waters. You could either be an example of a positive change or you could be the "I told you so" that many are waiting to scream out.

Good luck.

As others have said, make sure that regardless of gender, you are doing it for the right reasons. I don't have any doubts that women can and will be effective in combat positions, and any remaining resistence in the combat branches will adjust accordingly once that is shown. The great and terrible test of any unit's combat effectiveness isn't one that can be faked or fudged. Leaders either get their people home or not, and we either accomplish the mission or we don't.

All people wishing to join ANY branch of our military should be held to the same high standards, DO NOT lower the standard for one gender; it's demeaning and it lowers force capability. Equal reward for equal accomplishment.

I find the majority of these responses are no different for any soldier joining the Army. Trust me, co-ed basic training was no different in regard to what was expected of us. We weren't treated special, we certainly didn't expect anything to be handed to us (at least not after the first day), we were expected to do the same as the boys with the same amount of toilet paper allotted. We were treated like boys and we all smelled awful.

Don't be a social justice warrior. Do strive to meet the male fitness standards (not the minimums) of your organization. Expected to be treated like everyone else, which is to say, like a male. Don't seek, expect, or accept special accommodations because of your sex. Do your best to excel at your job and always work on your leadership skills. Don't use feminine wiles to get ahead or your way. Grow a thick skin. Realize that getting razzed, insulted, put down or shown disrespect might have nothing to do with you being a woman. Don't flirt with, date, or hook up with anyone in your unit, especially someone in your chain of command even when your peers, subordinates or superiors initiate it. Know that your attitude about your fellow soldiers, your unit(s) and your branch will change over time.

Focus on the 50 Meter Target!!

I've been an Infantryman since day one. As a junior enlisted I expected my leaders to provide me with the tools to be successful to complete my mission, to close with and destroy the enemy! As a young paratrooper I could give a damn about what was politically correct, in the streets of Fallujah or down Route Irish. All I cared about was doing what I had to do ensure the survival of my brothers around me. Notice I didn't say MY survival! The sweat that you fail to shed while you are here in training a lot of times turns into blood on foreign soil! Don't you dare be afraid to sweat during peacetime! Although it won't guarantee you will come back alive at least you will know that you gave it everything you had!
Everyone has an opinion about this issues but the problem is that you as the soldier on the ground have to live it! You should always focus on the highest threat first, the 50m target! Forget about everything you hear in the media and all the accolades and pats on the back you are receiving right now because that's coming from people who don't have to walk in your shoes right now. Everybody knows what you are about to do and how you are going to get there. But none of that is as important as WHY you are going to do it! If your WHY is centered around YOU, you will most likely fail! If your WHY is centered around a higher purpose than just yourself, you are still not guaranteed to succeed, you will have a better chance of it though.

You can come to my platoon any day and I would welcome you with open arms. Just know that if you can't help me keep my brothers and sister alive then I don't need you and I will get rid of you, regardless of what you, your family, the chain of command or anybody in the media has to say about it! I am no longer a young paratrooper, I am an old crusty Infantry Platoon sergeant but my WHY is still the same.

The media will not tell you about this and neither will the Army's propaganda machine! Make no mistake about this, at some point in your career as a Combat Arms soldier you might be facing eye to eye with your enemy and you are going to have to choose between your life or the lives of the men and women around you or that young military aged male pointing a PKM straight at you!

I wish you the best !

Carnage 7, out!!!!

We are all Family : We need to work together, period.

Personally I am a bit concerned in how we ensure the right intent is at the forefront of those who join. I say this about all recruits in general and not just females. I don't see any issue with those females coming to combat arms but I only hope they come for the right reasons. It shouldn't be just to be the first or for attention. They should join to slay bad guys and close with & destroy the enemy. After all that is what we do.

My biggest concern is the potential of joining the senior ranks of the infantry. If you want to be a successful infantry leader you are expected to go to Ranger School. Just about every infantry officer is tabbed and the majority of those in senior enlisted billets. It is just an expectation out there. If a new soldier, male or female, wants to be successful in the infantry they should realize this is a logical step to advance their career. So far after the initial three were successful we haven't had another. But that is not saying that they can't be more. But when you are an SGT in the infantry and you are going to a board with 3 other SGTs and they are all Ranger Qualified you will most likely be placed at the bottom of the list of those at the board. It has nothing to do with sex or gender but it is just how the infantry operates. But we will see how this plays out. I hope the expectation of going to Ranger never diminishes and the best of luck to those that try.