A Moment of Congratulations

I would like to call the attention of the Hall to four young women who have done something remarkable: they have succeeded in surviving the United States Marine Corps' enlisted School of Infantry.

We here have differing opinions about the wisdom of incorporating women into the combat arms, and certainly on another occasion we ought to talk about what the success of these four women -- part of a group of fifteen, the other eleven of whom did not make it -- might mean in the context of that debate. Not today, though.

Today, I just want to take a moment to celebrate the heart and self-discipline it took to volunteer and to succeed against such odds. Well done!

UPDATE: Apparently that number has been reduced to three, because of a leg injury sustained in the final stages of testing by one of the women. Reportedly the fourth will be allowed to graduate with a later company.

16 comments:

DL Sly said...

OooRAH, Ladies!!!
All four of you.
0>;~}

Cass said...

I'm glad you covered this :)

Have been watching this story with great interest but hadn't decided what to say about it. It's all the more impressive as they volunteered and this doesn't do anything for them.

FWIW, I've never thought that no women could hack infantry school (notably, no women have completed OCS which is considered, at least by those who have completed both) to be tougher, but I don't expect that to be the case forever). I've been more concerned with unit effectiveness and deployability over the longer term and with the higher injury/illness rates of women currently in the force.

But I am proud today.

Grim said...

Cass:

I think I understand your position, and sympathize with parts of it -- though you mean IOC, not OCS, I believe! :)

What I wanted to do today was just to recognize a magnificent effort at high cost, which speaks to a praiseworthy character. We can talk about the shakeout another day. For now, it's time to be proud of them.

Cass said...

I think you're right, Grim. My Infantry Acroynm-Fu is pathetic. :p

Or I may even have confused OCS with recruit training - what I actually remember is hearing for years how much harder recruit training was and then (when we were at Parris Island for 3 years in the RCBns, that several DIs who went to OCS thought it was much harder than recruit training). So I'm probably even more confusicated than I suspected I was...

Comment in haste, repent at leisure!

Cass said...

What I wanted to do today was just to recognize a magnificent effort at high cost, which speaks to a praiseworthy character.

Amen :)

Tom said...

U-rah!

Texan99 said...

It' more important to me that they were allowed to try than whether they succeeded, or whether their success will hold up. Truth is what's important, and this is the only way to get it.

Tom said...

That's a good point, Tex. All 15 deserve respect for making a run at it.

Anonymous said...

Today, I just want to take a moment to celebrate the heart and self-discipline it took to volunteer and to succeed against such odds. Well done!
Grim, I am respectfully pointing out that the worthiness of the goal is part of the honor of attaining it. Why praise someone who has completed a hard journey to achieve a questionable goal?
Hypothetical - After passing an extensive vetting process and passing through several interviews, I went through a several week course that was both physically and mentally demanding. I received technical electronics training, practical firearms usage and assault training, and went through arduous physical & religious training every day. After passing the final exam, I am now certified as an Al-Queda resistance fighter, ready to fight the invaders of my homeland of Iraq.
I am not saying that going through the Marine School of Infantry is the moral equivalent of becoming a certified AQIZ fighter. I am advocating that praising the journey without considering the destination is shortsighted. Praising the journey to someplace is praising the destination/purpose, and given your “we have differing opinions” paragraph, it seems we are skirting that issue.

Anonymous said...

Oh, the goal is worthy, all right. Congratulations to the young women who succeeded. There are going to be people who will try to rain on their parade, because they hate the US military and everything it stands for. Feel free to ignore them.

I have observed our US military through its engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the training it now offers young people through high school ROTC. I've come to the conclusion that the one effective, large education system in this country resides with the US military, in part because they are effective at teaching leadership, civics, and ethics, along with a every other subject necessary to the operation of a civil society.

It's good to acquire strength, skill, and stamina through your own good efforts. It's also good to learn how to conduct yourself in a manner that will make you and your family proud.

Good job.

Valerie

Cass said...

Well, the goal here was to determine whether women could complete the current course and qualify.

That's good to know. People have all sorts of (often uninformed) opinions, but hard data is always preferable to ungrounded feelings.

There are several questions here (this is not an exhaustive list, by the way):

1. Can women qualify (meet the current standards as defined by completing the training/screening)? Let's face it, if they can't then the rest is moot unless you change the standard.

2. Can *enough* women qualify to make it work the military's time?

3. Do enough women even WANT to try?

4. If enough women can qualify (pass training), how will they hold up in the infantry over the long haul? People can do many things for a short time period. Doing them over a career is a another matter.

5. Cost effectiveness: does the benefit outweigh the cost? (boy is THAT a value-loaded question!)

These women volunteered, at considerable personal risk, to help the Marines answer just one of these questions - to take that question out of the realm of pontification and bloviation and establish the facts. Their graduation really only partially addresses Question 1 (it does nothing to answer the other questions) but repeated trials will flesh out the data set.

I think that's praiseworthy and in the best traditions of the Corps, and I say that as someone who doesn't expect the costs to outweigh the benefits.

Grim said...

I think that's right. The goal here was to further our understanding, in an unusually honest and straightforward way.

The attrition rate for men at the school of infantry is about 1%. The attrition rate for this battery of women -- if we count the fourth woman as attrition, because her injury forced her not to complete the course with her company -- is 80%. The attrition rate for women at the Infantry Officer Course, after the first few attempts, is 100%.

So what are we trying to accomplish? I think the first thing the Corps is trying to accomplish is the ability to speak honestly about the differences, in order to get past the ideology and get on with making good decisions about what is best for the Corps.

What were the women trying to accomplish? You'd have to ask them, and I hope they come forward to talk about it, because I'd like to know. But whatever their individual goals, they were part of a goal that is good.

Cass said...

I was going to put up a bar chart of the attrition rates, but my Dad is back in the hospital and I've been slammed. No time.

The whole debate around this issue is so maddeningly afactual that it makes me want to scream (and not in a good way!).

Grim said...

Sorry to hear about your father. Let me know if there is anything I can do, though as you know my plate has been rather full lately too.

Anonymous said...

What's the saying? I admire their determination but I question their judgement?

In all seriousness, well done to the ladies and best wishes in their careers.

Cass, I'll raise the prayer flag for your father (and for you and your sanity).

LittleRed1

Cass said...

Thanks - all prayers welcome. My Dad rocks - he really is the most marvelous man. Funny how it takes bad things to remind us how lucky we are.

Well, not funny really but you know what I mean.