Men's Group
In reply to the discussion: War, the Draft, sending men to kill --Is that sexism? [View all]Clames
(2,038 posts)...then you have a serious misunderstanding of the situation.
It's not just pointing an 8 lb rifle. It's carrying 75 - 100+ lbs of gear, rations, water, and ammunition to go along with it. The body armor with SAPI plates alone is 40+ lbs. Sophisticated communications and other electronics takes batteries....LOTS of them. Women have a tendency to shift loads lower towards their hips because they don't have the absolute torso strength to support a load up high. This puts much more stress on the hips, knees, and ankles as they adjust their marching gait. 30 - 40 lbs there isn't much difference between men and women. 50 lbs and more it becomes significant. Nobody is going to the field with less than 50 lbs anymore, that's exceeded with IBA, rifle, ammo, and water easily. Muscle doesn't just move a load it also supports and spreads the load evenly through the body structure. Men do handle austere environments better and anyone with a basic understanding of the physiological differences understands why. Killing and murder maybe just a matter of semantics to you (your are obviously no lawyer) but it makes a difference especially since nobody is drafted against their will these days and hasn't been in several decades. Outdated thinking entirely but it is only your opinion. I think you need to think much harder though.