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

From my time in the military very few combat related job really prepares you for the outside world if it's 3 years down the line or 20. There are few but it's few. My advice is to pick a mos that will prepare you for a unforgiving world especially if your time is during peace

I would be the wrong one to ask. I was forced to warch 36 out if 40 in my Field Medical Service School platoon blatantly cheat to 'pass' because they were physically unfit for duty as FMF Corpsman assigned with Marines. The instructors looked the other way because it was easier than explaining a 90% failure rate. The same lowering of standards has happened in the F-14 training program, the Blackhawk training program, and every other military role where there has been a rigorous training standard. That standard has always been lowered for females to pass and often resulted in deaths, destroyed equipment, and wasted billet space.
Having females in a combat billet is acceptable in one case only. The instructors actually hold them to a training standard, AND that standard never gets lowered to tailor the school for females to pas with an unrealistic opportunity. Combat is the great equalizer. There are no shortcuts.

SSG Bethany Viglietta This is the advice I give anyone when they ask, "What should I expect?" Be ready to be treated poorly. This is not (or rather should not) be due to gender. Rather it will be due to the fact that these soldiers are trainees. As such, they will be treated poorly. From speaking with those outside combat arms, it seems like the treatment lessens after BCT. Going through AIT was not a whole lot different from boot (I wasn't in an OSUT unit either). The reason for this is the DS and cadre are trying to prepare civilians for some of the most stressful jobs on the planet, and you can't do that through kindness and special treatment. Once training is done, the atmosphere should change a bit, but that is going to vary unit to unit.

In a nutshell: Follow orders. Move with a purpose. Stay motivated.

I feel that if they can meet the required standards and training, on the same equal level as the males, then they deserve the opportunity. The biggest question in this issue is the emotional aspect while under direct enemy contact and how the males would react to an injured female. Of course the biggest and most obvious concern is the sexual harassment. How do you segregate the females from the males and protect them in a combat environment? The only way to find out for sure is to assign females to select combat units and document the activity. Israel has been using integrated units for years and they have some of the best trained females anywhere. Russia has also integrated their spetznat units and that proved successful. The proof is in the doing and I believe it can be successfully accomplished with proper training and execution. Personal accountability and discipline are required to accomplish this task. Let's hope the DOD does this and gives the females a fair opportunity to prove that they can be all that they can be. This is only my opinion.

Great question!.
When I say "you" in this reply I am referring to those female potential recruits; it is you talking to/advising them
My thoughts are that EVERYONE is going to have to grow up and face the fact of "communal living", especially in Combat Arms MOS's. That means men are going to see you urinate and defecate in the field and you are going to see them doing the same. You are going to get naked in front of men and they are going to get naked in front of you.
I was 11-series for 14 of my 23 years and the thing about the Infantry is this: you WILL pull your own weight. Period. I have met some female Soldiers who were rock-hard and could hump a LOT of weight, I have seen some male Soldiers who were complete wimps.
If I remember correctly, the Army makes exceptions during menstruation for certain physical things, but, if you ask for those exceptions, you may be frowned upon. Suck it up. I do NOT mean that to be sexist in any way. It is just fact.
Intimate relationships within a unit, even if they do not violate the Fraternization Policy, erode morale. They create jealousy and resentment. Find someone from a different unit or who is a civilian (this applies to male Soldiers as well).
Hope these help. It is, again, going to be an awkward "deal with it" transition requiring a lot of maturity on all sides.
Best of luck, recruit some good Soldiers!!!

Just get it done and don't ask for any special favors. If you can't handle it , nine times out of ten it's not going to be your fault. If it is , then I think you already know the solution.

Do your job, keep your eyes, and ears open and your mouth shut!!

Remember that you are a *soldier*. Expect and demand to be treated as such at all times.
Take no crap.

Go to work and do your job. Do it better than every person around you and don't stop till you can. If you are not a type A (ALPHA) personality, pick a different MOS. Grunts victimize men who are not type A, but if you go out and hand them their ass, they will die for you. Be the best soldier in your unit, not one of the guys.

SSG Viglietta, what advice are you giving them now....SGM Marquez is spot on, but what are your feelings, and if it were you, what would you be doing to make sure you were ready?