First Female 11B is Headed to Fort Benning

People, keep your eyes on mission. Will standards be changed for female 11B?

SGT (Join to see) - This is the problem within our ranks. As a Sergeant you should hold yourself to a higher standard. This kind of remark is unacceptable and embarrasses the NCO Corps and sets a poor example for your/our subordinates.

The problem with the ranks, is that we allow congress to play social experiment with the Army. Dont act like you haven't seen this happen on deployment with mixed units... It happens all the time.

Actually I think the real question of gender biasing will come in to play. As a sergeant you know your PT score comes in to play with advancement. I can take a male soldier, 22 who does 40 push ups, 50 sit ups and runs the 2 miles in 16:30 minutes. He scores a 181. The same data for a female soldier nets her a 245. Actually the female soldier can get a 300 on her test while the male is still barely passing. When it comes to unit functionality, you can't have your unit do a timed movement and the female with the automatic weapon show up 20 minutes later. Where I am not against women in combat roles, I am more for equal standards for MOS, regardless of gender.

MSG (Join to see) - I certainly see your point. I can't say that I understand first hand because I do not do the job myself. I know that in most cases, males and females cannot compare physically, but there are those that can. I think that's the most important part of the issue here, to be honest. Regardless of gender, don't you think infantry soldiers should be held to the exact same standard? I do, and I think that's going to be a big issue that the Army will have to address. The standards that are currently in place for females do not reflect appropriate physical requirements for infantry positions.

SGT Stephanie Sisk, having been an 11B and on the short side (5'03 125lbs at the time of enlistment), I can attest to how difficult the MOS is for someone who is not as strong or tall as the other ones in your unit. At peak physical condition, a smaller person can keep up with the larger and stronger people in their unit. You walk faster or run when your fellow Soldiers are walking or jogging, you are carrying over half your body weight while the others are carrying 1/4. In other words, you are struggling while the others are not. You are more likely to suffer injuries when others are not. I agree the standards must be the same whether male or female to be in a combat position like 11B. To be honest, I have no idea why someone would want to go in the Infantry in the first place. I initially enlisted in the Infantry in 1973 based on my admiration of a mentor. After enlisting, I discovered most people felt like it was the worst position in the military and many minorities in the unit's I was in claimed racism as the reason they were placed there.

I'm not worried about it, if these females can hack it then they can stay in, if they can't then they'll get chaptered like any other soldier-failure to adapt. I'm not gonna treat them any different, I may have to watch my mouth, but the treatment will be exactly the same.

SGT(P) (Join to see) - Really, you can't handle language that's a little ruff.

Ive always said.. there is no such thing as true equality. lol

True equality? How about selective service for women... Or how about we start with the basics: child rearing. Men don't have the same rights as women do when it comes to a custody battle. The man could have a house, income, educated, law abiding citizen etc the woman could be illiterate, living with her mother without a job, have a criminal record and she'll be awarded custody damn near automatically. There will never be true gender equality. One will always get preferential treatment over the other depending on certain situations.

CPL Bryan Claeys - Agreed

True equality doesn't always work in our favor, and I think a lot of women don't realize that... I agree with you to a point, actually. While I hope that the standards are not lowered and she does not receive preferential treatment, she very well still may. This is a new change and we probably won't see it work effectively for a long time. It's up to Army leadership to uphold the standard and train soldiers properly in this area.

I don't believe in rallying for equal treatment in only certain situations. If you want equal treatment, equal pay, and have the same opportunities offered, you need to perform equally. You don't get to pick and choose when / where to be equal if you want true equality. That being said, it is also up to our peers to treat (and train) all soldiers equally.