USMC Captain Katie Petronio: Why women shouldn't be in infantry. "Get over it, we are not all created equal"

2012-07-17T20:31:47+00:00

Her body failed her. This proves absolutely nothing. Good old sample size of one.

Jacksambuck · 2012-07-17T22:22:29+00:00

Fuck this. You don't get to opt out of ek-wa-li-tee when "it's hard", especially not on essentialist arguments PC has spent so much time censoring.

You've made your bed, now lie in it.

curious67 · 2012-07-17T20:10:42+00:00

I dislike this. Not only are there plenty of women who can meet the physical requirements of being a soldier in direct combat, there are plenty of men who can't meet them. Instead of judging based on your genitals we should actually test potential candidates against a uniform requirement.

JockeVXO · 2012-07-18T02:11:20+00:00

As long as they have the same requirements and are held to the same standards, go ahead. Of course, I'd like to see male-only and female-only batallions.

2012-07-19T23:06:08+00:00

http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette/article/get-over-it-we-are-not-all-created-equal

As an actual real live Infantryman, I give her a lot of respect for being completely honest. It takes a lot for a person to say the things that she does, especially when they are referring to their own abilities as a soldier.

My job is hard. It's really fuckin' hard sometimes.

If you are a rifleman, you are expected to be able to stay in full kit, which includes an IOTV vest (2 plates for the front and back, 2 plates for the sides), 7 magazines of 5.56 ball ammo (each magazine has 30 rounds), an IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit), and a water-supply (usually a 2 liter camelbak). That's just the basics. Mission essential equipment such as NVGs, thermal optics, radios, and the like are to be carried depending on the mission. Also, this only applies for the basic rifleman.

Let's say you're a SAW-gunner, you carry around a 17 pound M249 with at least 5 drums with 200 rounds each of 5.56 mm ball ammo instead of just 7 magazines.

If you're in a weapons squad, you carry even more. A 240 gunner carries a 27 pound M240. You will generally have an assistant gunner who carries around a tripod as well as his normal full-combat-load, and a few hundred round of 7.62 ball ammo. Then you have the poor ammo bearer, who carries the full combat load for a rifleman, AND an assault pack with 600-800 rounds of 7.62.

Take it from me, it takes it out of you just to put an assault pack with that shit in it on, walking around with it makes your shoulders bruise up over long distances, and lying in the prone position, with that bag on it's hard to breathe.

A gun team should be proficient at, as a team, quickly throwing down a tripod, mounting the machine gun on it, and having rounds linked to it stupid fast. Less than 10 seconds is ideal. The ammo-bearer will have to take off his assault pack in order to give rounds to the assistant-gunner, and if they move he has to quickly close his assault-pack, throw it over his back ( a bit easier now that some of the rounds are gone :] ) as the gunner removes the 240 from the tripod and the assistant gunner packs up the tripod. They have to do this quick.

It's not a question of motivation or spirit, it's a question of medicine. Most men can't do this, most infantrymen get out with major back issues. This isn't like an olympic sport, the more you do it the shittier your skeleton gets, your muscles get stronger but everything else breaks down over time.

Women should not be in the infantry. Equality is not as important as an effective fighting force.

Title	USMC Captain Katie Petronio: Why women shouldn't be in infantry. "Get over it, we are not all created equal"
Author	curious67
Upvotes	8
Comments	17
Date	July 17, 2012 7:58 PM UTC (14 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/wpvob/usmc_captain_katie_petronio_why_women_shouldnt_be/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/usmc-captain-katie-petronio-why-women-shouldnt-be.1017726 https://theredarchive.com/post/1017726

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