Nine Month Female Marine Experiment Ends:
WASHINGTON — A Marine Corps study that found all-male ground combat units more effective than teams that included women has raised new concerns about the Pentagon’s push to open all jobs to women next year.
A summary of results released Thursday from the unprecedented study showed that all-male ground combat squads were faster, stronger and more lethal in most cases than units that included women.The women also suffered higher injury rates during physically demanding training.
NO KIDDING. There’s a lot of good stuff in the article, so I’ve excerpted quite a bit of it. Still, you should go read the whole thing in order to appreciate the magnitude, depth, and details of this study, which was easily predictable for anyone who has a brain. I could barely get through each line without shouting to myself about something, so strap in and let’s go through it:
The Marine Corps and other services face a deadline the Pentagon has set for requiring military branches to open all specialties to women, including infantry and special operations forces, beginning next year
Administration officials have said their intent is to open all jobs to women and have set the bar high for waivers. “The department’s policy is that all ground combat positions will be open to women, unless rigorous analysis of factual data shows that the positions must remain closed,” Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said last month.
Let’s stop right there for a moment. Now, we have almost a whole year of FACTUAL DATA. This is what the advocates have been calling for, so they got it. But hey, maybe this was kind of a subjective test by guys who hate women. It probably wasn’t scientific at all, right?
The Ground Combat Element Integrated Task Force turned training bases into laboratories, hooking Marines like Brown up to heart-rate monitors and GPS devices. Their rifles were rigged with devices that could determine the placement, accuracy and timing of every shot. Some 400 Marines, including about 100 women, signed up to be test subjects.
Huh. Now, we have had an exhaustive, lengthy examination of whether women could be integrated into the Marine Corps infantry. Millions were spent. Thousands of hours of data were pored over. Hundreds of females were screened.
So, I’m POSITIVE the military leadership would look at this exhaustive study with the cold, objective eyes of serious leaders who are sending young men and women into combat:
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who oversees the Marine Corps, said the study would not change his mind about opening all career fields to women.
There you go. I’ve been trying to tell you this. Whether women can perform the task is irrelevant. THE NARRATIVE is what is relevant. I told you this the other week:
Mark this down: I have a better chance of Stacy Keibler calling me out of the blue and professing her lust for me than Ash Carter saying “no” to females in ANY slot. Regardless of performance, or practicality, there is NO WAY that Carter grants an exemption to anyone. The narrative has been set, and the narrative must be followed through.
I know Secretary of Defense Ash Carter isn’t Ray Mabus, but they might as well be the same guy. They both serve at the whim of the president, and it’s pretty obvious that the orders handed down from on high have been crystal clear: Get some women in there or I’ll find someone else who can.
Let’s continue with the study results:
The Marine Corps went a step further, creating a task force that allowed commanders to compare all-male with gender-integrated units. That allowed the service to compare not just individual performance, but also how a team with women performs as a unit. The task force consisted of about 300 men and 100 women who trained together for nearly a year.
So this wasn’t just a case of seeing which women could, say, do enough pull-ups. This was a lengthy, exhaustive process mimicking the actual deployment of women to a line unit. Think of this as a mock pre-deployment spin-up.
“Anytime we did movement under load, all-male groups outperformed integrated groups,” said Paul Johnson, a Marine civilian official who helped develop and oversee the experiment.
Trivia question: How often are infantry Marines “under load” in combat? If you answered, “100 percent of the time,” congratulations. You are now officially more intelligent then the secretary of the Navy. Well, maybe the females can at least fire weapons accurately?
On marksmanship, men who had not been through infantry school hit targets 44% of the time with M4 rifles, besting infantry-trained women, who hit targets 28% of the time.
Even untrained men outperformed fully trained women. What does that tell you? Unlike in the movies, modern battle rifles with optics and IR lasers are kinda heavy. Maybe this has something to do with upper body strength. If only they had tested that. Oh, they did?
Women also struggled with obstacles designed to test upper body strength in simulated combat. “For example, when negotiating the wall obstacle, male Marines threw their packs to the top of the wall, whereas female Marines required regular assistance in getting their packs to the top,” the summary said.
Officials cautioned against drawing too many conclusions from the study. Better training and screening could boost female performance, for example. “We can get better on injuries,” Weinberg said. “We can get better on strength. We can get better on training.”
Let’s not draw too many conclusions from a study that lasted a year, cost tens of millions of dollars, and whose whole raison d’etre was to have conclusions drawn from it.
Sherry de Vries, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, said that once women have had more experience in the infantry their performance will rise. “The women don’t have the training that men had to begin with,” she said.
What in the Christ is that supposed to mean? The same freaking article JUST SAID that these women had completed infantry training, and were bested by men who hadn’t even gone though infantry training! If anything, dopey Sherry’s quote should read the exact opposite.
Secretary of the Navy Mabus was presented with all of these facts. Black and white, no bullshit FACTS. So what was his reaction?
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has doubled down on his assertion that all combat jobs should be opened to women in the wake of a new study showing that all-male Marine control groups outperformed those with women in nearly every infantry task.
In his radio interview, Mabus suggested the Marines’ study was flawed due to the caliber and mindset of the volunteer participants.
“It started out with a fairly large component of the men thinking ‘this is not a good idea,’ and ‘women will never be able to do this,’ ” Mabus said. “When you start out with that mindset, you’re almost presupposing the outcome.”
I’m trying to process what an absurd, ridiculous, MORONIC statement this is, and I’m having difficulty. In other words, Mabus thinks that because people THOUGHT they’d have a hard time, GOSH DARN IT, that this mind-control somehow carried over into women not being able to lift a pack over their heads.
Mabus also said the Marines could have selected female volunteers who were better suited to the task of marching under heavy loads, which accounted for many of the injuries that were observed.
“For the women that volunteered, probably there should have been a higher bar to cross to get into the experiment,” he said.
Hmmm. Gee, maybe he has a point. It wasn’t fair to just pick women straight out of boot camp who had no intention of going into the infantry anyway. Oh, but wait:
Female volunteers, except for a small “provisional infantry” group, were required to graduate from the Marines’ entry-level enlisted infantry training course and specific combat job schools, if applicable. They also had to get at least a third-class score on the male version of the Marine Corps’ Physical Fitness Test, requiring three pullups, 50 crunches in one minute, and a 3-mile run in 28 minutes.
So all of the volunteers for this study had ALREADY been selected. They were the ones who had actually finished infantry school. Is this an indictment upon the Infantry Training School, whose cadre had graduated the females who attended the integration experiment? A lot of the male Marines seemed to think so:
Because everyone in the platoon had graduated from ITB, Bradshaw said the experience raised serious questions about whether existing standards were stringent enough to select Marines who were cut out for success as a grunt.
“When the commandant came to visit us out at the range one day, he asked how many Marines felt that [infantry training] is adequate,” he said. “Half raised their hands.”
So who are these mythical females that Mabus is talking about? Is he implying that there is actually an entire group of female Marine superwomen that could have passed the course that weren’t selected to attend it? Where are the Marines keeping these wonder women?
I suppose I should just be happy that Mabus kept an open mind until the research was completed. Oh, wait a minute:
Mabus said before the release of the research that he was in favor of full integration, causing some Marines to question why he didn’t stop them from carrying out the research, which cost $36 million (!!!), in the first place.
THIRTY-SIX MIL. This was the ultimate in Kabuki dance. Mabus obviously didn’t give a rat’s ass what the experiment was going to show. The outcome was guaranteed. This man is UNFIT to be Secretary of the Navy. Hell, he’s not fit to be secretary of cleaning pus-ridden geriatric assholes, in my opinion.
If he had one shred of honor, he would go to the SecDef with these results, and say, “I will NOT HAVE THIS in my Marine Corps. We are less effective in almost every way. If you want to fire me, then fire me.”
Now just because Ray Mabus is bureaucratic buffoon, and these test results were the inevitable result of biology, doesn’t meant that I don’t have a lot of respect for the women who gave the efforts.
This is not written out of malice. This is written out of contempt for the effort of social engineers to lessen the lethality of Marine infantry units in the name of some bizarre crusade. Infantry training is hard, dirty work, and I want to definitely congratulate the female Marines who tried as hard as they could. They were obviously motivated, determined, and brought the Devil Dog attitude in spades.
They’re just up agains limits in the human female body. Now, once we all get the exoskeletons, maybe we can address it again.
As I’ve previously stated, in a perfect world I wouldn’t mind letting women who could hack it into the units. I just know that whether they admit it or not, the leadership would change all kinds of shit to make it possible. And once the physical problems are done being discussed, you’re STILL going to have all of the sociological problems that all of the leadership would prefer not to discuss. What am I referring to?:
Over time, (the marine) said, discipline broke down because some noncommissioned officers were hesitant to hurt the feelings of more junior female Marines with orders or correction. Romantic relationships and friendships between male and female unit members also became a distraction, he said.
In other words: There’s going to be some serious banging going on in units filled with 20-year-old men and women. What about the SOF units, whose members tend to be a little bit older? Are the SF guys going to go train in Germany for three weeks with the three new hot Green Beret chicks? How’s that going to go over with the wives at home?
Contractor Receives Award For Afghanistan Service:
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – On Friday A Tampa Bay area man received a special honor at MacDill Air Force Base. Richard Cicero was severely injured, while a civilian, in Afghanistan.
After serving in the U.S. Special Operations forces, Cicero became a military contractor. He was tasked with locating IEDs in Afghanistan. On Aug. 24, 2010, he stepped on an IED and lost his right arm and leg.
Friday, on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Cicero was awarded the Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom at MacDill. The relatively new medal was created in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It’s the civilian equivalent of the Purple Heart for service members.
Huge respect to Master Sergeant Cicero. I’m not sure the country will ever quite know what an ENORMOUS role civilian contractors have played in the GWOT.
Outstanding job.
The German Defence Minister has admitted that the country verges on “an emergency” after cracks have begun to emerge in the ‘German generosity’.
Germany has been viewed as a leader on Europe’s worst refugee crisis for 70 years, with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s expectation that the country will take in 800,000 this year alone.
More migrants have arrived at Munich’s train station since the start of September than in the whole of 2014.
About 120,000 refugees arrived in Munich in August and more than 25,000 came last weekend.
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier added that about 40,000 migrants are expected this weekend alone.
Is it starting to sink in yet for the Germans? This massive tidal wave of humanity, which shows absolutely zero signs of slowing down, is going to drown the entire country. To allow it to continue is the act of a madman.
Or a mad woman, in this case. I’m not sure what German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s endgame here is at all. Is she really so incredibly foolish that she thinks this is the prudent thing to do? Is she in search of some sort of legacy? Is she seeking the approval of a compliant press, who almost universally supports this displacement? Does she think she’ll get a medal?
With a sensible immigration policy, you allow in a few people at a time. See, that way, you let your new arrivals know how it’s going to be and what’s expected of them. But when it’s hundreds of thousands of people at once, you don’t tell them jack shit. THEY tell YOU how it’s going to be.
This is so obvious, even an infant should understand it. I know that Germans still have this weird guilt thing over World War II, but damn, committing suicide as a country, as a culture, as a PEOPLE, is no way to get over it.
I didn’t really intend to quote myself twice in one week, but hey, this is what happens when you’re right about everything. I wrote the following a few weeks back:
Look at what’s happening in Europe. Last year, 230,000 people crossed the Mediterranean to try and get in. This year, so far, it’s over 300,000. What if next year, it’s a million? And the year after that? Are the citizens of Europe to loudly cheer on their own bankruptcy? Their own displacement?
It’s actually happening far faster than I could have imagined. Shockingly enough, when people from the Middle East and Africa hear that a country is going to give them free food, housing, and money, they tend to show up. I know, I know. Crazy.
I wonder if the German people are on board with their country becoming an Islamic state within the next 50 years. Because, thanks to that bitch known as demography, that is what is going to happen.
State Propagandist Worried About Offending Aspiring Strongman:
NBC’s Andrea Mitchell said Tuesday that she didn’t get to ask Hillary Clinton all of her questions about using a private email account, because she worried the candidate would cut off the interview.
“We were told we had a 15-minute interview,” Mitchell told hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “I asked more than 12 minutes on emails before I felt — out of concern that they would cut it off, obviously — that I had to move on.
“I couldn’t ask everything that I did want to ask,” she added.
Mitchell said Clinton believes she used her personal email ethically.
“She is not going to apologize,” Mitchell said. “She says she did nothing wrong.
“It was not illegal,” she continued. “But there was plenty of guidance, I should say, against it. That’s the point I was making — that it was recommended against.”
What is it with this media? WHO CARES IF SHE WOULD HAVE CUT IT OFF?
What do you think is more compelling television: Hillary Clinton droning on and on with her talking points about how she did nothing wrong, or Hillary Clinton letting her fake mask slip and snarling, “This interview is over!” ripping off her mike, and stomping out? If I’m a TV producer, I’m praying she does it, and then I show that clip over and over and over again.
As an aside, usually I’m leery of making political predictions, but I’m going for it: Hillary Clinton will never be President of the United States. It’s over.
When photographer Tara Ruby put out a call for moms to stand in the middle of the Main Parade Field at Fort Bliss and breastfeed their babies while wearing their U.S. Army uniforms, she knew she was asking a lot.
It’s not illegal to breastfeed in the Army, not even in uniform. But it’s still a hotly contested issue, with an amendment to the House Armed Services Committee’s defense authorization bill draft that would protect female soldiers’ rights to nurse and their needs for support still making its way through Congress. The Army is currently the only one of the four services to not have a specific, servicewide breastfeeding policy.
This is right up there with black people in the Jim Crow south not being able to drink out a water fountain. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL.
Which is exactly why Ruby asked moms to show up with their boots laced and their babies hungry and to nurse while she shot photos of the group to share on Facebook, Instagram and anywhere else she can put the photo.
Married to a soldier, Ruby herself was once in the Air Force, and she recalls quitting breastfeeding her oldest son — now a high school senior — after eight weeks because of the strain of irregular shifts mandated by her unit at the time. “I remember pumping in whatever dark room I could possibly get,” she recalls, musing that she could have breastfed for much longer if there had been more support.
So she freely admits that they gave her a room to use. Maybe I’m not getting this. I mean, how much more support do you want other than time to do it and a private space to do it in? She wants more support…for what, exactly? I’m not trying to be a dick here, I honestly don’t know what else she expected.
Did she want someone to assist her? Should the Army create a new MOS, the Combat Assistant Breast-Feeder? I don’t get it.
We’ll Be Back To Muskets Soon:
The U.S. Army has largely ceased investing in new warfighting technology as overseas enemies steadily close the gap in capabilities. The service is increasingly vulnerable to advanced anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons being fielded by potential adversaries, while its efforts to defend against hostile aircraft such as drones are lagging.
During the Obama years, the annual funding available to the service has declined by $100 billion, leaving it with the smallest budget of the Pentagon’s three military departments. At $127 billion, the Army’s base budget request for the fiscal year beginning October 1 — meaning the money not directly tied to fighting in Afghanistan — represents a mere dozen days of federal spending at current rates…
…Service leaders told Congress in February that “the Army has no major new modernization programs until the next decade.” Now a secret budget briefing uncovered by the respected web-site InsideDefense.com reveals why. The Army is under so much pressure as its forces shrink and its budget is reduced that it can barely maintain soldiers in an acceptable state of readiness. It has slashed funding for technology investment and base upkeep, even as the number of active-duty soldiers looks likely to fall 150,000 by the end of the decade.
Maybe if we weren’t doing things like spending 39 million dollars to see if integrated units would work out, the Army would have a little more money to spend on things that kill people and break stuff. Like what they’re supposed to do.
British Army Captain Rapes Woman With Fiancee in Room Next Door:
An army captain has been jailed for seven years after raping a woman while his fiancée slept in the room next door.
Sandhurst graduate Daniel Howard, who has served in Afghanistan, carried out the attack at his flat in February last year.
Despite awaiting trial for the crime he and his fiancée married last month and the court was told she has vowed to stand by him.
Howard, who serves with the Royal Army Medical Corps, was convicted after a four-day trial in which he was accused of inventing a “ludicrous, cold-blooded and insulting” defence.
Howard claimed forensic evidence found on intimate swabs had been put there by his victim after she found a sex toy he had used.
I thought America led the way when it came to shyster lawyers, but I underestimated the scoundrels across the pond. That’s a good one!
That said, you’re forced to admit in open court and on the record that you’ve used sex toys. That’s what I would have done if I were the prosecutor, gone along with the lie for a while and asked all kinds of embarrassing questions about it. Like, what kind of toy? Where do you like to insert it? Are you into size, or speed, more? Things like that. You could get into really graphic details until the guy just broke down. It would be great.
Naked Man Punches Cops, Gets The Sponge:
Santa Maria Police have arrested a man they say attacked one of their officers. Police responded to the area of Smith and Broadway after reports surfaced that there was a man naked running in the streets.
When police arrived they found Michael Rodriguez. When they tried to approach Rodriguez, he took several swings at the officer, punching the policeman in the face and head several times.
Police used a taser to try to subdue the suspect, but were unsuccessful. Rodriguez took off into his nearby apartment building where he did not come back outside.
Rodriguez put on clothes, and came back outside but still not compliant with the officer’s commands. After a less-than-lethal sponge projectile, Rodriguez was taken into custody and booked at the Santa Barbara County Jail.
“Less than lethal” is a pretty benign way of phrasing what is going to be a hammer-fist punching you right in the chest. Here’s a look at one of these, including in super slow-mo!
That is going to sting a little.
Don’t forget, we’re coming up on more Republican and Democratic debates soon, so follow me on Ze Twitter @BKactual as I live-tweet extremely cruel things about all of the candidates.
(Featured image courtesy of military.com)
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