This 82nd Airborne Veteran would be proud to serve in combat with women.

[trumad]

I'm kind of chuckling at a current thread here in DU talking about women not being able to meet the pull-up standards.

Chuckling because ---so fucking what.

I served with many women that would kick fucking ass in Combat. I've served with women that were tougher than most of the guys in my unit. I've served with women who could shoot a flea off a pigs ass from 350 yards away. I've served with women who were far smarter than a majority of my fellow soldiers.

Pull-up standards? Really?

[intaglio]

1. Thanks n/t

[A-Schwarzenegger]

2. Oh, yeah?

[steve2470]

3. why do they even have that standard ?

Is it just archaic and completely irrelevant ? Serious question. Thanks Trumad.

[cyberswede]

11. Right? My daughter can do a whole bunch of pull-ups - so what?

But she still isn't eligible for combat, since she's 11 years old.

[Kingofalldems]

4. I noticed a couple republicans showed up in that thread.

[LanternWaste]

5. I recently read Studs Terkel's oral history, The Good War

I recently read Studs Terkel's oral history, The Good War, and one of the vets interviewed (in the section titled aptly enough Reflections on Machismo) narrated how utterly useless all PT (except for forced marches) was once the crap hit the fan.

"I mean, c'mon! How strong do I have to be sit in a damned foxhole in 15 degree weather with Krauts surrounding me and aim my rifle?... The biggest and strongest guys who did the best in basic training were usually the first ones to cower behind a tree, and the smallest guy I knew turned out to be our unit's best soldier..."

[MattBaggins]

10. +infinity

The men uber alles crowd claims it's about climbing which only an idiot would do as a dead heave. Pulling yourself up is about physics and proper motion and momentum.

[TBF]

6. I think it may be conditioning as well -

pull-ups are not something a lot of girls focus on. My daughter is 10 and can do an amazing number of them. She's very slender and got an award in PE for doing them. She's pretty athletic though - and did a lot of gymnastics at a young age. If they want pull-ups they'll probably have to focus on that in the country's PE classes.

[ismnotwasm]

7. Thank you

My daughter served in the army for 8 years. (She can still do more than three pull ups)was a weapons expert, volunteered to do female searches in Afghanistan and came home a decorated combat veteran. She didn't take any shit, and she don't ask for leniency because she was a female. Often outdid her male counterparts in PT.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

8. !

[MattBaggins]

9. This 11th Cav Trooper would as well

[Aristus]

12. So would this tanker.

I don't mind saying I received a lot of praise for my abilities as a tanker, expecially the heavy-lifting abilities (which are paramount when crewing a tank.)

I used to load the main gun so fast during live-fire exercises that observers in the tower would joke that our tank had a rapid fire capability.

On several occasions, I got the tank ready to roll out of the cantonment area from a completely cold start; weapons dismounted, no radio pre-sets, etc, all by myself while the rest of the crew was still at the chow hall.


Once, while I was attending the NCO Academy, just for fun, I slung the biggest guy in our class over my shoulder, picked up his combat ruck and weapon, and carried all that plus my own weapon and ruck 100 yards at a trot, just to prove I could do it.

All that, and I don't think I was ever able to manage more than about five pull-ups in a row at any time.

There's more ways to judge one's combat capabilities than pull-ups...

[Sissyk]

13. I think that's great Trumad!

But, I wouldn't put you in harms way. I can't even imagine having to he carry you to safety if you were injured. That would be horrific mentally for the rest of my life if I failed, and knew all along I didn't have the upper body strength.

Some women have it and some don't.

Some men have it and some don't.

I don't want those men or women that don't in combat. But, that's just me.

[AtheistCrusader]

14. Don't need a lot of upper body strength to carry someone.

Only to carry someone a certain way. Apply leverage properly, you can move a pretty big person, no problem.

[Sissyk]

15. I can't. I admit it.

Some people just don't have that strength. Nothing wrong with admitting it.

[CTyankee]

16. My goodness, there have been a recent spate of "what women can't do" OPs lately...wonder

why? Where oh where did they come from....???

[trumad]

17. Just check the names

They're all the same.

[kurosagi]

18. Pull-up standard?

I was also in the 82nd between 2001 and 2004 and I don't remember an Army pull-up standard.

We had push-up requirements, sit-up requirements, and a 2 mile run.

Now that has nothing to do with the argument, and maybe something was said in the other thread that I should read. Maybe the Army changed the PT standards at some point. I do know that I worked with plenty of hard working women in my Engineer unit who I would have no problem fighting by my side.