5/28/2023 0 Comments Combat arms 2016![]() The average weight a Marine carries has doubled in the past dozen years to about 85 to 90 pounds today. The individual load has increased as improvements have been made in individual protective gear, weapons and radios. Infantrymen are required to carry all their equipment on their back, often over great distances, and be ready to fight once they arrive. "At its most personal level it comes down to the skill of the individual, the cohesion of the unit and the training." "Infantry combat hasn't really changed much since time immemorial," said Gregory Newbold, a retired Marine lieutenant general. So far 14 women have volunteered but none has completed the course.Ībout 40 women volunteers have successfully completed the Marines' enlisted infantry course, which is not as physically demanding.ĭespite advances in technology in warfare, the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq often came down to the most basic infantry fight. The Marine Corps recently opened the Infantry Officer Course, a grueling 13-week class, to women on an experimental basis. The Marine Corps, this month decided to open an additional 11 specialties to women, reducing the number of fields closed to women to 20 out of about 335 fields.īut jobs like the infantry and special forces have remained closed to women. The services have been opening an increasing number of jobs and units to women. Women already fly combat aircraft and serve aboard ships. "There's no doubt that our female Marines have done very well serving in combat over these last dozen-plus years in both Iraq and Afghanistan," Smith said. Thousands of women have been exposed to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. The experimental task force will allow the service to compare the performance of an infantry squad of women to an all-male or a mixed gender unit. In order to qualify for the unit volunteers will have to meet basic physical requirements, which have not yet been finalized, and will also be required to attend the relevant military schools. "We think we'll get the volunteers," Smith said. Since it is an experiment involving people the plan has to meet stringent legal requirements that govern such work.Īssignment for men and women to the force will be voluntary. The service will begin soliciting volunteers to create a task force of about 460 Marines, including about 120 women. "This is about ensuring that our female Marines are set up for success," Smith said. The Marine Corps said the extensive research is needed to ensure that combat effectiveness is not compromised and women will not be at a disadvantage as specialties are opened up. ![]() The current plan is to have a male commander and a female as the task force sergeant major, the senior enlisted position. "It will mirror what we have out in the operating forces today," he said. The women will be placed throughout the unit, including in infantry squads, artillery gun sections and tank crews, said Smith. The Army, which is also studying the physical requirements of the infantry and other ground combat jobs, said it has no current plans to create a similar task force. "I don't know of any other example of what we're talking about here," he said in an interview at the Marine Corps Base at Quantico. ![]()
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