In reply to dale1968:
Where is the data to say that women have 3 times the injury issues in basic training? They may have moved the goal posts but not only to accommodate women. They moved them because the type of training they were doing was irrelevant and actually caused more injuries.
Women are different and running with a GPMG and ammo or even as a number 2 with a box of 12 mags is not the best example. I know a lot of blokes, including infantry, that would struggle to run with a GPMG.
We studied ATR's, basic trg and fitness regimes. The percentages of those who passed out were both the same in relevance to the numbers that joined and the increase in fitness was 10% for males and 9% for females. I have no idea where you got the 3 times more injury thing from because in our study, over 3 intakes, the results were that yes more females went sick from injury but it was again because there were less females in the platoon than males so the percentages were different. in fact, more males dropped out or were back squadded than females overall.
What is interesting is that males worked harder on the physical tasks in the initial weeks of basic trg because they had to make up report points because they lacked the academic ability in a lot of the administrative based subjects whereas the females were better at this and they had to make up points on the final exercise so they worked harder there.
Quick statistic, BPFA. Out of 30 males and 30 females, 17 females passed first time and 18 males passed first time so not a massive difference.
It isn't always about who is physically stronger, you have to have a bit about you as well in the brain department. The main point that came out our study was that in the future, same sex trg was probably the way forward, exactly same curriculum but it will actually improve fitness because male and females work on different cardiovascular levels.
Final point, honest! There are so many different variables. Energy expenditure relative to body mass, basic metabolic rate, body recovery for each sex etc etc. Females performed just slightly under when it comes down to it but there are attributing factors.
This does not mean that they are incapable of performing on the front line. They are more than capable of being fit enough but the problem is that at the moment, they are in small groups in other regiments and corps and even more important, they are currently NOT TRAINED specifically to go onto the front line. Infantry units spend half a year preparing for Afghanistan both mentally and physically, stick a battalion of women together and let them have the same trg and they will be able to do the same job.
Den