• invariantMass
    +2

    So I'm going to agree with the majority of what you've said, there are women I believe who are suitable candidates for combat MOSs. However the last part where you mention ...

    Accepting a man who has passed training but continuing to doubt a woman who has passed the same training is a problem.

    There were guys in all of the infantry units I was in that people would question how he passed OSUT training, and would have difficulty with the weekly unit training. Most would chalk it up to 'basic' getting 'softer', but it does happen. These people are able to slip through the cracks and are unfit for serving in a combat MOS or any type of military capacity. I mean look at the surging numbers of active military suicide, these are people with past histories of depression that somehow make it through the training that never should have been allowed to enlist. The majority of these service members have never even seen combat, so it'd be a tough sell to claim the issue of PTSD.

    What I'm saying is that doubting a soldier is fit for combat already happens to men in combat roles, and to single this out as a gender issue is a little farfetched. Source on PTSD/Deployed /NonDeployed Suicides: http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/p...nse-department-suicides-2013-report/21865977/

    • LacquerCritic
      +2

      I think that we can look at it with a bit more nuance though. The situation you described - someone having issues with the weekly training - is entirely understandable. And again, I'd argue that if women in combat roles continue to struggle with regular training, or have other issues pop up as time goes on, that is a valid concern. But if you have a woman fresh out of training, having seemingly passed with no issues, and there's nothing else on which you can evaluate her, saying, "Well, I bet she's going to have problems anyway. She probably won't be able to do the job," isn't benefiting anyone.