Stendec 5 you are on the money- I don't think anyone female will ever actually beat the standard set by the class of 82 who did that march and then fought it out to win the battles in the FI.
Does the country honestly want young women to do that sort of role anyway? I think not (they have a bad enough time accepting the present loss of young men in combat).
I wish someone would publicly stand up and say that to do the nations fighting like that it is best left to young hard men, and also tell them yes be prepared to look the other way while your using them, because the people who do the gutter fighting, the bloody infantry fighting aren't angels and you would not really wish to keep one as a pet.Simple as that.
This country is up its own arse at times.
Been reading Max Hastings "Armageddon" again recently and he covers a lot about the Soviet Unions fighting forces in closing stages of WW2. The Russians employed women extensively, but seemingly even they shied off from using them in outright close combat roles. Think a lot may have been as mechanics, radio operators, NKVD even. This despite massive losses of men in combat roles.
Why was this?
And I have to finish with this. Without doubt two of the crappest officers I ever worked for onboard a front line deployed vessel were both women RN lieutenants. They seemed to be both on a massive ego trip about being in charge of a group of men. They were a bloody awful pair, pretty unapproachable, too young, too inexperienced, very arrogant and very bad at trying to lead and bond a team together. Neither of them were a good reflection on the output of BRNC Dartmouth. I've never forgotten it or them and would cross the road to avoid either of them if I was as ever unfortunate to meet them again.
When you get men and women like you get a minor sex war going on anyway, does not lead to good unit cohesion in my most honest recentish experience.
I'm afraid there is a place for women in the military, but I'm sorry it isn't at the nasty, dirty, oily, spewy pointy end for the majority.