Women in the Infantry. An update.

Serious hat tip to Chris for e-mailing me this article.  

via the Washington Times...

Female Marine officers are unlikely to join the infantry anytime soon, in part because of a lack of volunteers for the Marine Corps' Infantry Officer Course, which was opened to women in September.
Only two of about 80 eligible female Marines have volunteered for the course -- a grueling, three-month advanced regimen conducted at Quantico, Va., that was opened to women to research their performance.
Of the two female volunteers, one washed out on the first day, along with 26 of the107 men, and the other dropped out two weeks later for medical reasons, a Marine Corps spokesman said.
The research effort was launched after the Pentagon opened to women more than 14,000 jobs that could place them closer to front lines and combat.
The Marine Corps wants to test at least 90 more women in the course before making any decision about women serving in infantry roles, the spokesman said.
Getting 90 more female volunteers may be difficult. About 125 female officers each year enter the Basic School, a prerequisite and candidate pool for the Infantry Officer Course, the spokesman said.
Since September, women in every new class of the Basic School have been given the opportunity to volunteer for the Infantry Officer Course, and they will continue to be offered the chance, he said.
A Marine Corps spokeswoman said no women have volunteered for the next Infantry Officer Course, which begins in January.

Read it all at the Times website here.

The real problem?  TBS is a kick in the nuts...or ovaries.

The Commandant knows this.  The SgtMajor of the Marine Corps damn sure knows this.  But what catches my attention and boggles the mind is the fact that this type of training can actually affect women physically in ways that are harmful.

In a July article in Marine Corps Gazette titled “Get Over It! We Are Not All Created Equal!” Capt. Katie Petronio said she suffered from restless leg syndrome, severe muscle atrophy and infertility resulting from 10-month and seven-month deployments, respectively, to Iraq and Afghanistan.In Afghanistan, she commanded 30 Marines who were building patrol bases in Helmand province, one of the most dangerous areas at that time.“At the end of the seven-month deployment, and the construction of 18 [patrol bases] later, I had lost 17 pounds and was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (which personally resulted in infertility, but is not a genetic trend in my family), which was brought on by the chemical and physical changes endured during deployment,” Capt. Petronio wrote.

So what do we have?

We have people that know better getting ready to set up someones daughter to do a job that the Feminist boosters would never do and that Marine Corps leadership knows will hurt some of their Marines.

If I didn't see it happening I would never believe it could happen in the Marine Corps that I know. And one other thing.  Don't fool yourself.  If they lower standards in Infantry Course you can bet that you'll see those same people getting smoked once they get to the fleet.

It will be a sad day when a LT straight out of Infantry School falls out of a road march in front of the battalion.  Respect will be lost and never recovered...and the entire battalion will hate, not pity that officer.

UPDATE:  I re-read this and I need to make something clear.  Capt Petrino was outside the wire in Afghanistan getting it done, doing the Marine thing!  Anyone, man or woman will suffer under those conditions.  Weight loss is common and stress is constant.  That's the dirty secret behind this war.  At big bases you have service members that are working to keep the weight off...people have deployed and come back on weight control.  It all depends on where you serve.  I hope that clears things up a bit.