Female soldiers are to be allowed to join tank crews for the first time.
In January 2017, the King’s Royal Hussars, Queen’s Royal Hussars, and the Royal Tank Regiment will allow female recruits to begin training. This news follows a decision to allow women to serve in combat roles.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon denied that training regimes would be made less tough:
“It’s not weakening at all. I think we can improve the way we conduct physical training. We have got to make sure that the physical training and the tests involved don’t discriminate against women, but equally don’t damage the operational effectiveness of any unit.
We need to make sure that the training is properly adapted to the different physiology of women and we do as much as possible to protect their long-term health and safety.
“I have always wanted roles in our Armed Forces to be determined by ability, not gender. Women have already given exemplary service in recent conflicts, working in a variety of highly specialised and vital roles.
By opening all combat roles to women, we will continue to build on these successes and improve the operational capability of our military.”
More was written in an earlier article, analysing the roles played by women in combat.
why not if women want to be on the front line i have no problem with that,i used to take some of the female staff out on patrol in bosnia and kosovo,granted some did struggle carrying the excess weight of combat gear,but given it was not there everyday job so they were not used to it,plus with todays military recruitment it is becoming a problem to get recruits especially in the navy because young people these days want to sit and play on there phones or ipad…
andy. Have you met any teenagers recently? They’re all in the gym bulking up. Carrying a pack is not going to be a problem for most of them.
I considered joining the armed forces for a while but luckily never did. Why someone would volunteer their services to strangers and blindly obey orders from incompetent superiors who put your own and others lives at risk is beyond me. And then after going through hell, putting their lives on the line and doing their jobs to the letter (with faulty equipment and very little support), they then come home and get investigated for war crimes… So yes, sitting at home and playing on my phone seems much more appealing.
Sadly i have to agree 100%. Until HMG restores the military to size big enough to to the job, invests in training and resources it fully then only the fool hardy would join the lower ranks.
Swansea, the alternative is to reduce commitments, then manning levels would be adequate, costing and time could be reallocated to improved training and resources and improve conditions for the rank and file. The misuse of servicemen by politicians and senior civil servants and military commanders creates both long term problems across a range of areas.
That may be true, but that attitude will not keep your family and friends safe if the shit hits the fan.
“I think we can improve the way we conduct physical training. We have got to make sure that the physical training and the tests involved don’t discriminate against women” Oh dear, i think we al know what that means in reality (Clue: they never make it more difficult)
when i was serving fitness was paramount, i never saw a fat soldier,that was late 80,s going into the 90,s then the military had to change because society had and has become soft,fitness dropped they did runs in trainers and tracksuits for god sake your not going to war in trainers and tracksuits…at the time i was 30 i could still out run a 17 year old they would have trainers on i would have boots on,because that,s the way we were taught and trained…..as for the witch hunt on soldiers yes your right,because idiots like Blair Brown Cameron let… Read more »
ive not seen a bird yet in the army able to tab for shit. Bear in mind the fitness test are the minimum stand and. In the field you wish you were carrying 55lbs of kit. Still if able I don’t have a problem with it but there is no way they will not either lower standards across the board or have a 2 tier system in place!
It will not work. I served on MBT’s and women are more than capable of carrying out the job, that is not the issue! It is the issue of how a group of men act and behave around a woman. Men will always try to out-do each other when they are around a woman to prove who’s the Alpha Male. It’s nature. How about when you cam up for the night in the cold and all of the crew is in the bivvy keeping warm? With 4 blokes there’s nothing sexual. 3 men 1 woman is dangerous!! Or even 2… Read more »
It will not work. I served on MBT’s and women are more than capable of carrying out the job, that is not the issue! It is the issue of how a group of men act and behave around a woman. Men will always try to out-do each other when they are around a woman to prove who’s the Alpha Male. It’s nature. How about when you cam up for the night in the cold and all of the crew is in the bivvy keeping warm? With 4 blokes there’s nothing sexual. 3 men 1 woman is dangerous!! Or even 2… Read more »
similar to some of the comments above, i can see no reason why women cannot serve except for the fact that they cannot be integrated as part of a group they would have to work with their own kind. in a tank the entire crew would need to be female, or if male crew they would need to be homosexual. this is more because males usually treat women as weaker and are more likely more defensive of them. i know thats wrong but it is human.