Colonel Ellen Haring wrote that article....
IOC Lts. are not required to carry that much weight for the whole march. That being said, there's also this....
So my question to the Marine Corps is -- where did they get these standards, who validated them and who can actually meet them? They don’t appear to be operationally based and it sounds like no Marine infantry unit can meet them. They certainly aren’t regular or recurring requirements to be a Marine infantryman -- which means they don’t meet legal standards.
For starters, these are not infantrymen. These are Marine Infantry officers. They are expected to be able to set an example, and not look beaten/ragged out when leading their Marines on marches. They have to be able to participate in such marches, and complete them, while leading their Marines, encouraging those lagging behind, communicating up and down the chain of command, etc.. They cannot be "trained up" when they get to their units in terms of physical conditioning. They have to be able to lead in that respect right from the start.
Second, training cannot adequately recreate the long-term physical demands of such duties, which will include periods of time with inadequate rest, nagging physical injuries, and simply wearing down over the course of a long deployment or sustained operations. To compensate for that, you train to a higher level than what you will be expected to do so you have those reserves when things get tough.
This is all about the push to lower standards by those whose mindset prioritizing gender integration over combat capabilities.