Women in Combat

heyitsme
Mon, 16 May 2005 23:01:41 +0000

One problem with females (a problem from an employer’s perspective) is that women get pregnant. It costs the Air Force $3 million to train one pilot for fighters or bombers. The cost to retrain aviators who have been off flying status ranges from $70,000 (helicopters) to $247,847 (fighter pilots). If a woman gets pregnant she is not allowed to fly in ejection seat aircraft such as fighters and bombers. This means that she is out from the job for at least 9 months and the military has lost its investment. during the time the woman is nondeployable, and when she returns she needs to be retrained. That is just one cost.

here are some other findings on the differences between males and females.

Findings by The Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces:

Compared to the average male Army recruit, the average female Army recruit is 4.8 inches shorter, weighs 31.7 pounds less, and has 37.4 pounds less muscle mass and 5.7 pounds more fat mass. In general, women are at a distinct disadvantage when performing military tasks requiring muscular strength because of their lower muscle mass. Since fat mass is inversely related to aerobic capacity and heat tolerance, the average woman is also at a disadvantage when performing aerobic activities such as marching with heavy loads (related to the lower cardio-respiratory capacity of women) and working in the heat.

Research findings have indicated a high risk for injuries during Army basic combat training. During training, 51% of women and 27% of men were injured. The risk of lower extremity injury for women was 2.13 times that of men and for stress fractures, 4.71 times that of men. The higher risk of injury for women was related to a lower level of fitness when compared to men. It has also been reported that 54% of women sustained reportable injuries during Army basic training. These injuries resulted in an average time loss of 13 days. During this study, women participated in an integrated conditioning programme and completed extensive road marches wearing combat boots. Incidence of injury was related to greater body weight and body fat and limited leg strength.

In general, women are more sensitive to the effects of thermal stress due to several factors which include lower cardio-respiratory fitness, higher body fat content and lower skin surface area. During marches at a set pace, women exercise at a greater percentage of their aerobic capacity than men, resulting in a higher heart rate, oxygen consumption and heat production. Because of this higher metabolic rate, women experience an earlier onset of fatigue and are at greater risk of heat injury then men during forced marches in a hot environment. Studies, however, have not found operationally significant gender differences in heat tolerance among acclimatised men and women of similar fitness. Women’s physical advantages are that they are less susceptible to altitude sickness and, normally have a greater tolerance of cold temperature due to their extra body fat.