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

Be of strong character and have high integrity. I know you hear this all the time as it is really important in the military. The truth about these two characteristics are found in the orange, when you squeeze an orange till it busts you get orange juice. if you squeeze an orange till it busts and you get lemon juice then it obviously is not an orange. I say this because like the orange when we are squeezed who we really are will be what comes out. If your character and integrity are not very strong those around you will find out pretty quickly if you are an orange with orange juice or an orange with lemon juice. Who we are is found on the inside. Develop from the inside out and you will not go wrong, your orange will always have orange juice in it.

That's the lesson the question I have is. What do you really really really want to do? Why do you want to do it? Make sure both of these answers line up with your big picture. Your big picture question is where do I want to be in 20 years or even 10 years and is this going to help me to get what I want at the end of 10 or 20 years.

I have read this questions several times over the past few weeks and have been searching for an answer and did not really have a good one till now. I truly hope this helps someone. I want the best for you, as you should want the best for yourself.

My advise is simple. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Women in Combat arms has been coming for a while. We have even had two females graduate from Ranger School. But the thing to remember is that graduation and a Ranger tab does not a Ranger make. With the training tempo of SpecOps units being so high, it is the very few males who can keep it up for years on end. Don't get me wrong. I have worked/trained/taught women who were harder than woodpecker lips and I would be honored to have them at my six. They could do well there, but this would be hard for most. There are plenty of Combat Arms jobs out there in some high speed, low drag units like the 101st & 82nd Airborne. If they are young and don't have any experience in the military, i.e. prior service, then look at them hard when and where they want to go. To get in over you head will only hurt the recruit and make the failure rate abnormally high. This is the case for females AND males.

Dont

SSG Bethany Viglietta - 90 up votes & 434 comments. Did you get some good insights and ideas which are not covered during yr training? What are the top few things you mention to a HS grad?

I have no issue with women in any job specialty but they need to be able to keep up or ship out. There are no extra points on the field of battle for fielding a diverse fighting force. Lessening the standards will not make things more fair, it will only leave more bodies on the field. I don't believe that is anyone's goal. The women who choose to enter these specialties need to be very honest with themselves ...... are they willing to commit? Men do not get pregnant and then are not mission ready, Women are more prone to bone, joint and connective tissue injury than their male counter parts. Men already incur long term injuries from training and deployments. So are women entering these fields weighing all the potential consequences of their decision to enter these fields and how entering these fields my affect them later in life. Artillery and mortar rounds do not weigh less for women. Everyone carries extra ammo for squad weapons and you can't expect your male counter parts to carry what you cannot. If you are jumping out of planes or fast roping gravity works the same for men and women. (men in these specialties suffer back, leg and hip injuries) Entering these fields needs to be a long term and honest decision.

Two words ladies......"Good Luck". You're gonna need it to break down that ceiling.

First of all, I don't see or hear about how many females are chomping at the bit to try and become the tip of the spear. Like I said before, if a female can pass the required training with the same standards as the men, I don't see why they shouldn't get the chance. In reality, many of the females do not want this or cannot meet the standards for combat arms. Lowering the standards to allow more females the opportunity to join the ranks of combat arms will weaken our forces and lead to mission failures and death. The current standards are set by the real expectations of the job, both mentally and physically. It takes real dedication and commitment from those who complete the required training to serve in a combat arms unit. In reality, hom many females possess the required intestinal fortitude to achieve to achieve it? These new regulations are strictly political in nature and in my opinion are weakening our all volunteer military and creating distractions that are totally unnecessary. The military is not a political pawn and should not be used as one. It is a line of defense and a tool for action and deterrence. If our enemies see weakness or confusion in our military, it opens doors for possible attacks. We need proven and capable warfighers on the front lines, not a gender or equality statement. This is strictly my opinion, from 12 years of Army experience. Sincerely, a humble yet irritated combat veteran.

You Have a Long Row to Hoe...
First, I retired 17 years ago after 26 years of combined Active, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve time.
As The Recruits are Primarily American they are going to be used to Social Norms on the street and in Civilian Life ... They will have to learn to turn it off ... There is a time and place and in Uniform and when Deployed are not the Place or time...
One of the Key things you need to do is get Serious Feed Back from the 2 Officers who recently Graduated "Ranger" School. They are going to have First Hand of what to expect.
Next Follow the progression of the 2 Officers? Who have been selected for "Special Forces Selection and Assessment, " The Precursor to The Special Forces Qualification Course... Or what ever they are calling this days.
Most of the Guys Here Have summed it up nicely.And the Ladies Know First Hand the Up Hill Battles the Recruits will Face.
A Little History on how the military has handled the women in the Past.
I was in the same Airborne class as the First Female Army Parachutists... We went 3 weeks of training and never saw them until Blood wings on The DZ... Where were they...
I was also on the NCO side Of the "SF Q-Corse Class 1-80" as the first female to go thru the "Special Forces Qualification Course (1979-1980) "
Tell them not to threaten law suits and Congressional Investigations... That Just makes People Mad.
Inform You Female Recruits to leave the Fancy Frilly Girly Things Locked till off Duty make not efforts to flirt or amuse other troops... Keep it simple.
DOL...

I don't mind the transition, but be prepared to feel the same treatment everyone else will receive. I've already seen many junior enlisted moan, and complain about training and not wanting to do their job. I think its just going to add more fuel to the fire. New Army, so all we can do is adapt to the changes. I believe its not going to succeed though.

Prepare to learn and work hard, and to sweat and get dirty, put away the cellular phone and listen.