In this image released by the US Department of Defense, US Marine Corps
1st Lt. Mark Robinson inspects Cpl. Ian Juarena's equipment, at Camp
Lemonnier, Djibouti, before boarding a KC-130J Marine Super Hercules on
December 24, 2013. The US Marine Corps has delayed a physical fitness
requirement for women after more than half of female troops at boot camp
couldn't do three pullups, officers said Thursday. PHOTO/AFP
WASHINGTON,
The
US Marine Corps has delayed a physical fitness requirement for women
after more than half of female troops at boot camp couldn't do three
pullups, officers said Thursday.
The pullup rule was
supposed to go into effect with the new year but has been postponed
indefinitely as commanders were concerned about losing female Marines
and prospective recruits, officers said.
The commandant
of the Marine Corps, General James Amos, "has decided that Training and
Education Command will continue to gather data and ensure that female
Marines are provided with the best opportunity to succeed," spokeswoman
Captain Maureen Krebs said in a statement.
FLEXED ARM-HANG
In
the meantime, female Marines will return to a less-demanding "flexed
arm hang" -- which requires them to hold their chin above a bar.
Physical
fitness tests, particularly upper body strength, have come under the
spotlight as the Marine Corps and the Army prepare to open all combat
jobs to women by 2016.
Military leaders say they are
developing gender-neutral tests for combat roles, but some critics and
lawmakers are worried that physical requirements will be watered down
for female troops.
The new rule for a minimum of three
pullups for female Marines was announced in November 2012, and the Corps
gave women a year to train for the change.
But at the
Marine Corps boot camp in South Carolina's Parris Island, roughly 55
percent of women could not perform the minimum three pullups, Krebs
said.
As a result, the change was delayed.
"The
commandant has no intent to introduce a standard that would negatively
affect the current status of female Marines or their ability to continue
serving in the Marine Corps," Krebs said.
The issue will be examined throughout 2014 but there is no deadline as to when the pullup rule might return.
Some male military bloggers complained that women were being held to a lower standard.
"I
don't ever remember a single male Marine in the fleet or support unit
who could only do three pullups," wrote blogger Ultimaratioregis.
"The physical disparity between an average male Marine and female Marine is gigantic."
The
blogger added that for infantry and other combat teams, physical
strength was "a matter of life or death for the unit and the individuals
in it."
NO RULES RELAXED
The
physical fitness standards are supposed to reflect the strength
required in a battlefield scenario, including lifting heavy ammunition,
equipment or wounded comrades.
Male Marines have to
perform 20 pullups to get a maximum score on their fitness test, but
women only have to pull their weight up eight times to earn maximum
points.
Jeannette Haynie, a female Marine reservist,
wrote in July that she could not do three pullups but argued the Corps
should stick to the tough rule despite mixed results in initial tests.
"Stick
to the standard, keep the expectations high. Force us all, male and
female, to hoist ourselves up to that bar," Haynie wrote on a blog at
the US Naval Institute.
In November, three women
graduated for the first time from a grueling Marine Corps infantry
training course and officials said no rules were relaxed for the female
troops.
Women also have been invited to enroll in infantry officer training, but no woman has successfully completed the course so far.
Despite the latest decision by the commandant, pullups are not exactly going away for female "leather necks."
The
Corps has told its members that "all Marines are strongly encouraged to
continue training under the assumption that pullups will remain a
standard measure of physical fitness," according to a message sent out
to troops in November.
No comments:
Post a Comment