Marines increase standards for 29 combat roles
The tougher requirements will make it more difficult for men and women to obtain success
October 6, 2015
By Rachel Engel
M1 Staff
While many were waiting for the Marines to reveal if they would be asking for waivers to prevent women from serving in Marine combat roles, instead, the sister service of the Navy announced it would be increasing the requirements of 29 ground combat roles for the branch.
The change would decrease the chances of success for both males and females in a variety of jobs, including infantry, artillery and combat engineering, among others, and new standards include being able to evacuate a casualty and conduct an MK19 grenade launcher lift, as well as swim 2,000 yards and have the ability to scale a wall.
The new standards went into effect Sept. 30 according to Defense Department policy, 1st Lt. Matt Rojo, a spokesman for the Marine Corps’ Training and Education Command said.
Marines point to a growing number of troops unable to meet the current demands of combat troops as the reason for the change, and a need to shake the status quo up.
Even if combat roles are opened to women on Jan. 1, the new standards will make it more difficult than in the past for women to meet. During a nine-month Marine study of gender-integrated infantry company exercises, only two women were able to finish out of a starting group of 12.
“We did a test of units to see the effect of having an integrated crew, what it would do to the effectiveness of the organization,” Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller said. “Everything we do has got to make us better war fighters. You have to be willing to think outside the box… adapt, and change.”
https://www.military1.com/training/article/1549930014-marines-increase-standards-for-29-combat-roles
