The millitary and women-is it a good thing?

And you were in the military when?
It is a matter of military culture. This is something I spent a lot of time thinking about when I was on active duty, and more time thinking about since I left in 1995. the military is a fascinating, if essentially dysfunctional, microcosm of the lower middle class in the US.

I am a female disabled veteran, and here are my thoughts.

Females are not physically capable of doing everything that males can do... Sorry, feminists, but its true. Men and women should go back to separate basic trainings.

I'm disabled because I was required to carry 70lbs on my back on a road march in basic training, despite the fact that I only weighted 95lbs... guess what happened to my feet. They were flattened, and for the next 3 years I waited to get my medical discharge, and developed more physical problems due to the lack of medical care.

I think women can be in the military if they want, but I don't think they should ever go on combat deployments. There was sexual harrassment, but not nearly as much as racial harassment. That's just my experience.

Let me add that much of this is never articulated as such. Instead there is a great deal of enculturation that occurs from Basic Training through one's first duty station. Some of it never leaves you. I was on active duty from aged 22-28. I am now 37. A friend of mine, a grad student form the Classics department, and a very socially aware person, and someone who frequently sets off people's gay-dar, and incidently a five year marine rifleman, and I tend both to fall into woof-hoorah soldier mode when we are together. Our friends find it amusing, our girlfriends have found it disturbing.

Oh, we're going on experience? Then you definitely have me outclassed.

And the racial issue is another very complicated can of worms, again, in my opinion, due to the fact the military draws primarily from the lower classes.
At the places I was stationed, black and white did not hang out together off duty, with the exception of white women dating black men. This also led to a great deal of harrassment of these women by white men. Occaisionally the racial tension was quite overt. I recall a pair of black roomates who made and hung a sign on their door in the barracks (briefly) that read "Pilgrims Must Die." I also witnessed a new menber of the AID station commenting on how he "wasn't taking orders from no n----r."
Off duty, black and white tended not to mix.

This is all distressing to hear and surprising. Maybe the reason that such thinking exist so much is because the military is its own little world? In the general workforce if those things were happening it would be much easier to go through the proper procedures to get something done about it whereas in the military they have to go through internal channels to get redress which would seem to be a thing with inherit problems. (from what I understand admittedly based on TV shows, which kind of makes me seem even more of a no nothing that I already do. Just stating a fact not trying to illicit sympathy)

I am just imaging the picture of a ninety pound woman struggling with a 70lbs backpack on those long hikes they do. It reminds me of that movie (I can't recall the name right now) with Tom Cruise and Jack Nickleson and the whole thing about the code red. I would imagine that there are some men who can't do the physical drills and I would imagine that they would get a lot of ribbing from their fellow soldiers. But on the whole even women who weigh more than ninety pounds are still not as strong men even if they are near or exceed the same size as some men.

Solving all these problems I think would be too complicated for a thousand different reasons. Everything they would think to do would cause groups to protest depending on what their particular gripe is. But I don't understand why if someone wants to leave they can't just leave with no harmful consequences. I have never understood that which is why even if I didn't have a hearing problem and other things I never would have considered for a moment joining the military. Luckily they are not drafting yet so I don't have to worry about my daughters joining because they are planning to be teachers. (if there is a public educational system left when my youngest gets through with college) Can you imagine the problems having the draft again would cause. I mean what would be the situation, who would stay home with the children? If they say the woman, wouldn't that cause the feminist to start crying out in protest?

I spent 21 years in and never saw what you've written of here. I'm not saying that it doesn't happen but you are generalizing about the entire military and greatly exagerating in doing so.

Just for the record, I was in the active Army... mainly in Ft Hood Texas.

Fishin, when did you get out? This sort of thing was common in the 1990s.

1999 It wasn't "common" in the Air Force. We had our share of problems but it was nothing like you've described.

Ah.. the Air Force. I see. Different standards of behaviour. Definitely the service to choose, if you must choose a service.

As a female in the millitary.......
As a young female in the millitary, yes I have had my fair share of not being equally treated, but no female that is in the millitary should complain. You signed the paper, and weather or not that is what you signed up for, anywhere you go, no matter what your job, you are going to be treated different. If males were physically week and mental strong, and the females were the physically strong sex, things would be viewed just the opposite. As far as women not being allowed in the millitary, and being given the "lighter load" that is a bunch of bullshi*. We may not be as capable when it comes to heavy lifting, but strengths in other areas is what makes us a valuable addition to any branch of the millitary. And what the hell do you mean by women shouldn't be in the millitary based on the issue of respect. Respect for who? It isn't an issue of respect. I am sorry to break the news to you, but its the 20th century. Yes- maybe we like having the door opened for us, or like getting flowers every once in a while. It doesn't mean we are a weeker sex, and shouldn't have the same oportunities as males. Maybe males shouldn't beable to work in the office... if that is where you want to take this. It isn't the old days, and females don't ride side- saddle any more, so you old fashioned males(or females) who say women shouln't be allowed in the millitary, for the men it is mainly because you are intimidated, and the females who think like this, you are lazy, and blamming you physical weekness on the fact that you are a "girl." As for there being lower standards on the PT Test, yes, you can compare them, and most definatly- they expect more out of the males because they do better(as expected) but you compare any reserch done on test scores done between male and females, and then come back and tell me that woman are weeker than men both phyically and mentally.

wow, I stand corrected.

I was wanting to get this board deleted as I regreted it but I don't know how to go about it.