Some appauling attitudes here from some I believe as gentlemen. The CQB and bayonet argument is quite simply laughable and maybe you should all go and dribble into your travel blanket with your cup of cocoa thinking of the good old days of Benny Hill and On the Buses. Have you not considered that the female aircrew may very well find themselves in a toe-to-toe fighting situation when their aircraft spears in and the locals aren't friendly? There have been some incredible stories of women under fire in Iraq and Afghanistan with medals for gallantry to back up their actions. Please keep your minds open or your sneering mysogeny to yourself.
For me it's quite simple, if the females pass the same selection then great. As long as there is no discrimination in the required standards as there is now, then everything is equal. See
https://www.raf.mod.uk/rafcms/mediaf...2735D95037.doc
However, how can it be right that a peak of fitness female 17-29 has to reach broadly the same standard as a 50-54 male? This cannot be right and if the Chief and the SofS are really truthful about equality then either the female fitness scores need to rise to that of the males or the males need to drop to that of the females. Quite frankly the levels of fitness amongst some of the female and male cadre is poor and there are way too many with a sick-chit and "excused from games". I like to consider myself a feminist but the discrimination between male/female Service fitness requirements does the female's cause of equality no good whatsoever.
LJ