OUR VIEW: Protecting all soldiers is priority - Gadsden Times

<p>Almost 200,000 women are members of the U.S. military, and few would question their dedication to cause and country. Some, however, question their physical fitness for active combat duty, and news last week fueled their skepticism.</p><p>Women have served in the various branches of the military for years but have never been assigned to active combat duty. That's scheduled to change in 2016, and as part of the move, the Marine Corps developed new fitness standards. Included in the annual physical fitness test was to be a requirement that female recruits be able to do at least three pullups, seen as demonstrating the strength necessary to do things such as scaling a wall, climbing a rope or carrying heavy munitions. </p><p>The new standards were tested at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., and 55 percent of female recruits failed to meet the three-pullup requirement. That poor success rate led the Marine Corps to delay the requirement. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos said in a statement that he wants training officials to “continue to gather data and ensure that female Marines are provided with the best opportunity to succeed.”</p><p>When Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta early last year lifted the Pentagon's ban against women in combat, we urged that standards not be lowered. Panetta said female soldiers should be allowed “to pursue every avenue of military service for which they are fully prepared and qualified.” The key word in that phrase was “qualified,” and physical ability is a large part of those qualifications.</p><p>Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, opposes allowing women into infantry jobs. She characterized the decision to delay the pullup requirement as a “clear indication” that plans to move women into direct combat will not work.</p><p>We're not ready to go that far and stand by our original belief that qualified women should be able to fill any military position. We don't want to see the physical standards lowered just so someone can qualify. Anyone who serves should know that his or her fellow soldiers are able to shoulder their part of the load, be they male or female.</p><p>This country's armed forces are made up solely of volunteers, men and women who choose to put their lives on the line. Until both men and women can meet the same fitness standards, the Marine Corps' decision is the right one.</p>