“Women expressed concern about physical abilities if given combat job…”
Citing their worry of being falsely accused of both sexual harassment and sexual assault as their main concerns, 17 percent of male Marines polled stated they would leave the Corps rather than ship-over, according to an Associated Press report published on The Daily Caller on Feb. 1, 2013.
In an anonymous on-line poll the Marine Corps commissioned last summer, thousands of highly and expensively trained combat Marines have indicated that if women are allowed into the various Combat Arms MOSs (Military Occupational Specialties) such as Infantry, Artillery and Tanks, these Marines would opt to leave the Corps at the end of their current contract of enlistment.
Of the 53,000 polled, 17 percent of males stated they would leave if women were allowed into the direct combat MOSs, while 4 percent of women Marines were like-minded.
When asked if and when women were to be involuntarily assigned to combat MOSs, the number of those who would leave noticeably jumped:
- Men – 22%
- Women – 17%
Among the other compelling reasons male Marines cited as why they would leave their elite fraternity:
- Fraternization between higher ranking Marines and lower ranking females.
- Preferential treatment towards females.
- The inherent limits women have due to pregnancy and or so-called “personal issues” that would affect any given unit being and remaining ready for combat at a moments notice.
Marines of both genders “mentioned intimate relationships between Marines and feeling obligated to protect female Marines among their top five concerns about the change.”
Although the survey gave no specifics, female Marines “also stated they worried about being targeted by enemies as POWs, the risk of sexual harassment or assault, and hygiene facilities.”
Besides worrying if they would be accepted by the male warriors, the Associated Press glazed over one of the biggest concerns — simply being capable of doing the job:
The women surveyed also expressed concern about acceptance and physical abilities if given a ground combat job.
