Two more female officers dropped out of the Marines Infantry Officer Course after day one, taking the total of females who attempted and subsequently failed at 29 total. I think this is great.
Now, some of you may think that I am against women serving in combat roles. Nothing could be further from the truth. I think if there are women who are capable and are willing to put their lives on the line in order to defend this country, more power to them.
What I am AGAINST is the endangering of Marines and Soldiers due to political correctness that would have the standards lowered just so some feminazi can put a feather in her cap and crow about how women can do everything a man can.
By and large though, that is just not the truth. Men and women are created differently with different strengths and weaknesses. Are there exceptional women out there who can meet the standards that the Marine Corp has set up for their Infantry Officers? Sure. If you ever watch the Female Cross Fit Championship there are tons of women who would have no trouble smoking the course and leaving a number of male Marines in their wake.
But those women AREN’T the ones attempting to become Marine Infantry Officers. The 29 women who attempted it are the ones physically UNABLE to meet the standard. And there is nothing wrong with that. Not every guy can make the standard either. That is kind of the point. You want the best of the best and if you begin lowering the standards in order to play politics Marines are going to DIE. That’s the truth of it.
So 29 women have tried and failed the Infantry Officer Course…that’s great. It tells me that the Marine Corp is fighting off the political pressure of Washington and keeping the standard high.
To their credit as well, the female Marines who are failing the IOC aren’t crying foul. They don’t bemoan a “woe is me” attitude, contending that it was unfair to women. They couldn’t meet the standard yet appreciate the opportunity to try.
It is the politicos who are crying foul and demanding that the standards be lowered because it is unfair.
People like retired Army Col. Ellen Haring, an advocate for women in combat and Greg Jacob, policy director for the Service Women’s Action Network. They claim that the standards should be lowered because of their zealous desire to achieve their ends regardless of the means.
Haring and the spokesman for SWAN, Jacobs, bounce back and forth in their objections to the Monitor between implying that the female officers deserve special treatment to implying that the Marine Corps, presumably from the instructors at the school all the way up to the Commandant, are engaged in thumbing the scales. Their complaints about the procedures of the school indicate that they are perfectly happy to alter and lower the quality of the training to achieve their goal.
Fortunately, as of yet, the Marine Corp will continue to hold ALL Marines to the standard and will not endanger their lives by giving anyone an easy pass just to placate the special interest groups.
And that is why 0 for 29 is a good thing.
And whenever some female Marine like this:
is able to complete the course and become an infantry officer I will be proud to have her serving.
In truth, Annie Thorisdottir was the champion, but pretty much any female Crossfit competitor there (you could see them in the background) could do the Marine IOC because they have trained and worked hard enough to forge their bodies to the pinnacle.
Eventually a female Marine will do the same and meet the standard and can stand tall knowing their earned it. And that will be good too.
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