For Marines and the Army, studying how to integrate women into ground combat positions without sacrificing certain service standards has been tricky. Ongoing studies and physical tests have shown that possible female ground combat candidates have struggled at times because of size and upper body strength limitations. However, the Marines are pushing forward in studying how women can be fully integrated into more strenuous combat positions in a few different ways, according to a Military Times Group report.
Several new open training options
The Marines are required to make a recommendation to the Secretary of Defense in Jan. 2016 regarding whether all ground combat specialties should be open to women or if particular specialties should be closed for certain reasons. The recommendation comes just as the military intends to wrap up their Women in Service Review.
As part of the research, numerous training options have been opened to female troops over the past week. For example, next week women marines will be able to volunteer to participate in seven new ground combat training schools including specialties such as:
- Machine Gunner
- Mortarman
- Infantry Assaultman
- Anti-Tank Missileman
- M1A1 Tank Crewman
- Assault Amphibious Vehicle Crewmember
- M60A1 Tank Crewman
Additionally, the Marines' Infantry Officer Course experiment has been opened to female company grade officers instead of just entry-level officers. This means female lieutenants and captains will be able to test their ability to complete the course. This change is intended to bring more women to the course to study female effectiveness in ground combat positions. According to the Military Times Group, the Marines intended to have at least 100 women attempt the course within a three-year period. Currently, only 20 women have attempted the course, which has a failure rate of 25 percent for male officers. So far, none of the female volunteers have passed.
Keeping a high standard of physical ability
According to Col. Anne Weinberg, deputy director of the Marine Corps Force Innovation Office, the physical fitness test score is important in recognizing ground combat readiness.
"Based on historical evidence, successful completion and injury mitigation has a stronger correlation with a [high] first-class PFT score," Weinberg said, according to the Military Times Group.
Many proponents of female ground combat integration do not believe in compromising any of the physical standards, which sets a challenging precedent for women. In many training camps potential servicemembers are required to hike with full packs – which weigh roughly 100 pounds – and complete grueling exercises that test upper body strength.
Marine Lt. Col. Michael Samarov – a member of a planning group that will be taking 160 women across the Sierra Nevada mountains, Mojave Desert and Pacific Coast beaches to complete training exercises – believes women can meet standards and improve combat outcomes.
"Male and female, the task has got to be the same. Combat readiness will not be compromised," Samarov said, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting. "If we get this right, combat readiness will improve. We're not going to lower standards."