Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT)

The Women's Armed Services Integration Act says, “Effective the date of enactment of this title, there is established in the Regular Army a Women’s Army Corps, which shall perform such services as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Army” . This bill is saying that women are now able to perform tasks in the army with regulations set in place from the Secretary of Army. This bill became one of the first women’s rights bills. Today the women in the army are still fighting a war against gender discrimination. No matter the gender, going into the military requires great physical fitness. Women wanting to join must be between 17 and 34 years old, 58 to 80 inches tall, and weigh 91 to 236 pounds. The women must be able to take a physical fitness test including pushups, sit-ups and jogging. Depending on age they must be able to perform seven to 19 pushups, 26 to 53 sit-ups, and must complete a two-mile jog within 18 minutes and 54 seconds. If a woman fails at any part of these requirements they will not be enlisted . These are the only requirement’s that differ from men to women. The other qualifications include; US citizenship, a high school diploma or GED, a good health exam, and a score of 31 or better on a test called Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery exam (ASVAB) . One of the current issues that was passed regarding women in the army was a bill that allowed women to serve in the front lines. This includes,

Army therefore being extremely credible on the subject. From her time in service she comes to the conclusion that a woman cannot physically pull the same heavy load that a man can. Although there is no doubt that some women are without a doubt more than capable to do this, more often than not, most women cannot. She also presents the fact that when at the age of 18, males only, are made to sign up for the draft. If ever there was a draft women are still exempt from being able to be drafted. Her argument is that if women would like equality, is it not time to open the draft to all genders?. Added with the evidence provided is statistics showing that the Department of Veterans Affairs pays more than $500 million dollars for degenerative service connected ailments in females alone. This raises the question of whether or not the amount of money being paid for service connected injuries would rise. Assuming whether or not women do start taking part in infantry integration. These issues do not require the filling in of people in order to complete a job, such as when a female gets pregnant before a deployment. This not only would leave the unit with a person down, but it now has to take the position and fill it with someone else from another unit or command. This makes combat readiness a challenge. All of these factors can and will change the moral of

For push ups, they couldn’t put their knees down. The only difference about how they were treated compared to the men was that they could take birth control pills, and when they shower or change, there will be a sheet put up, separating the genders. The women who signed up for Ranger School are close to completing it, therefore that proves that women can do activities with the same level of intensity as men. In addition, this was the first year that Ranger School wasn’t open for men only, and already, two women have gone far. Although there were 17 that didn’t pass, officials are still going to use the statistics of women successfully completing training camps. This school isn’t the only military school to allow women. For example, women can join The Marines. I don’t understand why some men just can’t accept that women want to do the same things as them, but still don’t let them. Why would you limit someone that would do nothing but help you/ Maybe if they put a little more faith into women, we would feel more comfortable and succeed more than we already are. If a woman wants to do something that’s considered a “male profession”, they either have to prove why they should work there, or just get made fun of it. Women aren’t getting treated the same as men, and they should be. There is no reason they shouldn’t be. There are so many influential women out there, and

The United States Army was founded on June 14, 1775, and since this day women have helped nurture this great branch into what is known today as the largest and oldest United States Military service. (“Women”) The US Army is consisted of about 452,064 enlisted soldiers and 87,610 officers. This total of 539,675 makes up 37.8% of all of the military branches. ("Demographics”) As time has carried on more and more women are looking to serve the country in the Army. While women have many skills and abilities to offer, there is still a major issue that needs to be addressed. Double standards for women in the Army has created a disservice to not only the females but the entire Army. In order to have a more efficient armed force, standards for men and women should be equivalent.

Our military has been around for over 241 years, establishing its strength and developing itself to be one of the strongest, most potent, and patriotic military's of the world. Our military, consisting of the five branches (Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Coast Guard) as of October 1st, 2016 opened all military occupational specialties (MOS) to females. This may be one of the largest leaps in history that our country has made. However, with women's roles in the combat being changed they are required to pass all training with the same standards males have. This questions the service and brings to a debate on why the double standards in place today still remain. With the exception of females in combat meeting male requirements to qualify, I come to question the effects that these double standards have on the U.S. military, both past and present, in regards to the military's strength as a unit and the effects that they have on bringing together the members as one team despite these differences inflicted by gender. Both men and women of the service have the possibility to stand alongside one another while representing the same face-value and quality as

Women such as 1st Lt. Shaye Haver and Cpt. Kristen Griest, whom had completed the notoriously challenging Army Ranger program, are perfect examples of women that counter old stereotypes that women are weak and have no place serving in the military. While it may be true that, considering average physiology, women may have somewhat less bone mass and a lower capacity to develop muscle mass, the military does not require women to have a male bodybuilder’s muscle mass to gain entry or even excel. Beyond this, women have comparable fundamental potential for a military role. For all practical purposes, women have a comparable potential to train and succeed in the military, while gender roles, stereotypes, and treatment appear to have comparable or

This article is about the Army that is stationed in Iraq and the issues about gender inequality. Women are often protrayed as sex objects and gender is socially constructed. There is gender straitifcation and men are seen as more important than men. Men typically are in higher positions of power and have difficulty taking orders from a women, In this article it talks about women and men in the Army. Male sargents tend to not believe that the woman of the group is the leader.

The standards for females in their respective military branches have always been subjected to lower terms rather than the set of standards set for males, as noted in the Military APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) policy; for example, in the bracket of 17-21 years old, to pass females need 19 pushups and males need 42 pushups (Appendix A). However, for the first time in the military, Ranger school qualifications are not being subjected to these lower terms as the military normally does. Females are finally allowed to try out for the toughest United States Army Military School that the military has to offer. These selected females have shown that not only do they have what it takes to accomplish the toughest Army military school there is to this date, but they were also able to do it without the United States military branches or society lowering the standards for their qualifications. This is surprising since the females’ standards are lowered in every other branch of the U.S. Military. The selected females who passed the Ranger school qualifications have what it takes to be able to join their Ranger brothers (front lines) and should be given the right to join the elite 75th Ranger Regiment. They have earned and deserved the right to go to the Ranger Combat Zone, just like their male counterparts who passed the same program. As Admiral Jon Greenert stated in the CNN

In the article “Women in the Military” mentions the women have been joining the military since 2000. Besides that, women who serve the military do require a lot of physical requirement because of stereotypical thinking of women being weak. Even more, some commanders want more women to participate in the use of technology. Women tried fighting this kind of idea but managed to fail; In 2003 young women named Lynch was the only survivor of an insurgent attack in Iraq, which motivated more women to join the army. Even more, women that join the army also experienced harassment and rape. After these incidents, it was decided that the military training was not going to be co-ed basic training. By doing this the pentagon announced in 2013 that they

It is burdensome for women to advance in their careers because there are a restrained amount of positions available. “Women officers who want to advance their careers in the field artillery are thwarted because they must serve at least two years as a battalion operations officer or executive officers and there are very few of these positions available” (Fulton 1 of 7). The limited amount of battalion and executive officer positions, which are mostly given to men, are just another one of the many challenges military women face career-wise on a daily basis. “The Army, therefore commissions women officers, but does not offer them competitive career paths, a practice that is prejudicial and limiting to women in the Army” (Fulton 1 of 7). “Female officers commissioned into field artillery have a future limited in both scope and responsibility” (Fulton 1 of 7). Women who are looking for competitive careers in the military, especially in field artillery, have a hard time doing so because of the limited amount of positions they can occupy in that field. If this law were to be abolished, women would have not only a fairer opportunity to get a job in the military, but they would also be able to find work more

For the last 17 plus years of my career I have called the physical fitness test the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). Now in the last six years there has been rumors of it changing to the Army Physical Readiness Test (APRT). Between the changes in how we exercised before and in the years of combat, the current changes were a long time coming. We all know that the way we exercise determines the shape our bodies stay in throughout our careers. Injuries cannot always be avoided, but to reduce the risk of injuries, that is what is important to the Army now. The current changes to FM 7-22 have been implemented in order to help prevent injury through proper workout techniques and form. Except the

Another solution to fixing gender is using what cripples us to our advantage. Gender constraints of culture can intentionally be used as tools for fixing such constraints. Butler expresses, “ ..by varying the stylization of one’s performances and habits, one often subverts, many times unintentionally, the cultural norms that are materialized in them.” In order to change gender norms we have to make a conscious effort to not reinforce those stereotypes. As Butler states, “One can and should see gender binarism as powerfully real in one’s life and as refashionable because it is not an essential given.” No matter what side of the binary a person fits under not one essentially fits exactly the normative. In this way, it is easier to bend the idea

I was born and raised in Russia, where the gender binary system is still firmly reinforced to the present day. The socially accepted genders are male and female. Therefore, those who do not conform or abide by the socially defined gender norms often experience discrimination in forms of violence and physical aggression. For example, toys are made for appropriate gender, but I was different because I wanted to play with boy’s toys such as cars, guns, and tag. Thus, I did not fit the gender-established norms because girls were expected to wear skirts and "pretty" dresses, whereas boys could only wear shorts and pants. Likewise, the Russian mentality of gender comes from traditional and cultural values. They see gender not as a part of a developmental

Ironically, when we were given this assignment I had the perfect opportunity to violate a gender norm. I attended my cousins’ baby shower this weekend and all the guests were in for a surprise when my cousin began to open her gifts. I decided to buy my new baby boy cousin a pink onesie and a dollhouse. When my cousin pulled the gifts out of the bag everyone had puzzled looks on their face. My cousin even asked me if I had given her the wrong gift. Everyone thought I was crazy for buying a baby boy what is deemed as girl things by society. In the world, we live in pink and dolls are for girls and blue and cars are for boys. If you buy your child anything that society deems for the other sex you break many gender norms. I received a lot of

Gender equality is a global health topic that affects many developed and underdeveloped countries in all parts of the world. It is such a reoccurring theme amidst nations worldwide, the United Nations, or UN, developed a list of 17 Sustainable Development Goals, pertaining to and including issues like gender equality, to advocate the elimination of these dilemmas. The goal of the UN, regarding gender equality, is to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” (United Nations Development Programme, 2017, para. 1). According to the Cambridge Dictionary, gender equality is defined as “the act of treating women and men equally” (Cambridge Dictionary, 2017). However, this has not been clearly represented throughout majority of human existence. The rivalry between men and women regarding superiority has been an ongoing ordeal globally. There have been numerous occurrences where both genders had the disadvantage of not being accounted for substantially. Typically, when gender equality is mentioned, people tend to think of the Suffragettes and feminist activists from the Women’s Rights Movement like, Eleanor Roosevelt and Gloria Steinem. Arguably, females are not the only ones fighting for their rights, especially when it comes to the nursing profession. Worldwide, there is a precedent stereotype that the nurturing and difficult work done by a nurse is a job for a woman. Nursing is considered “feminine” and in certain cultures, it is frowned upon to be a male nurse