Female soldiers sue to lift combat ban 'solely on the basis of sex'

[Baldrick]

In case anyone is interested these countries (amongst others) allow women to serve as infantry.

The following links take you to the sections concerning women in the infantry. All are from official sources:

Canada - FORCES.CA - Women
Israel - IDF - Israel Defense Forces
New Zealand - NZDF - Search our site
Denmark - NATO/IMS: Committee on Women in the NATO Forces: Denmark
Germany - Germany Marks Five Years of Women in Armed Forces | Germany | DW.DE | null (official Bundeswehr news publication)
Ireland - The 30th Anniversary of Females joining the Defence Forces* | News | Website nam

This is worth a look. The title is crap and doesn't really represent the article well, it's more on how many women do and have joined the infantry and other combat arms.

Front-line women fail army test of strength - Telegraph

[sacredgrooves]

Originally Posted by Glitch

As I mentioned previously, women recruits went through a completely separate boot camp. Unlike the other military branches that have co-ed basic training, the Marines are separate. It is tradition in the Marine Corps to train every man, regardless of their MOS, to be an Infantryman first. It is one of the things that separates the Marine Corps from every other branch of the military. Obviously, that is not the case with women Marines.

I assume you are talking about 30 years ago in regards to the different training? They are still segregated, but not for a difference in training ....but no need to take my word for it.....



Marine Corps Training : About Basic Training for Women Who Join the Marines - YouTube

[momonkey]

Originally Posted by 2mares

Well the article stated women are already involved in combat although it is not listed as their role and that "More than 800 women have been wounded and more than 130 killed in fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the lawsuit said." I agree with WhoMe in that women have always been involved in combat to some extent.

In the photos the women were holding some pretty big guns. How often do you think the battle comes down to actual hand to hand combat? Is superior upper body strength really all that important in todays combat?

Holding and humping up and down hills all day are two different things. Keep in mind you not only have to hump all this crap (guns, gun bags, tripods, tubes, base plates, ammo, water, web gear, MREs, etc) but then fight once you get there.