I never thought that I would write a post like this, but this is getting absolutely ridiculous and I just can’t help myself.

With the recent reports coming out of Washington that women will be trained as Army Rangers and Navy Seals as early as 2016, there are valid and ridiculous views being stated all over social media networks.

There have been write-ups on virtually every aspect of why or why not women should be allowed in special operations, let alone infantry units. I’m not here to argue every conceivable point and say ‘this or that’ are the reasons women should stay where they are in the military.

This is a political game, nothing more and nothing less. Women want forward mobility. Okay, I get that, but in all reality do you really want to serve with a group of men that believe you were handed a free pass without having to pass the same standards? The truth is that, whether or not the standards remain the same, there will always be those who believe that you don’t deserve to be there. Why would you want to serve in a place where you are looked down upon? There may be an explanation for this and I would love to hear a well thought out argument.

Please leave your knee jerk reactions to yourself.

Standards, standards, standards. I believe that Jack Murphy said it best, “All units have standards, it’s just that Ranger Battalion actually enforces theirs.” Trying to figure out what I mean? Ask someone you know from a ‘Big Army Unit’ and see how many people they know who have DUIs, pissed hot for controlled substances, or been arrested and are still in their current unit? I would wager that the number is higher than you think.

These standards do not only apply to legal issues, but to training and physical standards as well. I read one comment where a woman argued about the physical standards of the APFT declining as soldiers increase in age. Yes, that is true, the Army does scale the APFT by age for both men and women. Not in Ranger Battalion and not in Ranger School. All candidates for Ranger School and members of the 75^th Ranger Regiment must pass the APFT under the 17-21 age category. Thats the standard.

In the 75^th all Rangers must pass the RPAT in less that one-hour. It doesn’t matter if you are 17 or 45, that’s the standard.

Please do your research about these units before you make some imbecilic remark about standards.

I personally believe that the Army is mentally weaker now than it was 10 years ago. I know that mental toughness, weakness, and capacity for the physical pain are practically impossible to gauge, but I will do my best to explain what I mean. And no I am not going to say some bullshit like “my class was the last hard one.” I am completely aware that training, fighting wars, and the physical capacity of the human race are far from fully evolved. I just don’t think the military as a whole is traveling in the right direction.

When I first arrived in Ranger Battalion it was common for me to be ‘smoked’ 4-5 hours a day. Some days were shorter and some days the punishment was longer. It wasn’t just me, but every new private including the higher ranks that came before me knew that defeated feeling. My team leader could have me out back behind the company for hours running me through every conceivable physical exercise and any person passing by, including our Sergeant Major or Battalion Commander would pay no notice to my suffering. Why? Because it was common practice and tradition that made me mentally and physically stronger. I knew that no matter what situation I would be faced with, it probably wouldn’t be worse than the wrath of my team leader.

As the years went by in Battalion, things changed. The video game generation started to show up and complain to their mommies. These parents then, in turn, complained to people in Washington, and bam!, now 25 repetitions of an exercise was the maximum you were allowed to PT a soldier with.

People were fired and relieved of their command. Why?

“Because Ranger Battalion is harder than I thought it would be and they don’t cut the crusts off of my sandwiches for me like my mommy does.”

I saw the same sort of weakness in Ranger School–standards slipped and cadre were let go.

If the Army is going to allow the things that I have previously stated, then there is absolutely no way they will uphold the current standards for women. Sorry, it just won’t happen. This isn’t about being fair, its about war and death and destruction. Protecting our country is being pushed to the back of the agenda and political correctness is superseding all schools of rational thought.

I don’t want, and we don’t need, soldiers with the best gear and training who will fold under circumstances that are harder than anything they have faced previously. The point of ‘smokings’ and similar abuse is that it calluses you for war. It enables you to dig deep into the places that you have been before, both mentally and physically.

Stay tuned for part II when I get back on track about women in Ranger Battalion.