I understand that mindset. I still don’t understand how the OP could include a brisk “Maybe one out of a hundred of you could make it through, but WTF?”
If he’d led off with a flat ‘no woman could make it through,’ he’d at least be consistent. But this? I don’t know what this is.
Sorry, but the reply to that joke is “because we can read maps.”
:dubious: “A couple of years ago”? Your linked article was published on March 29, 2013, and contains the following information:
By my count, the number of female volunteers who’ve attempted the course appears not to have broken out of single digits yet, so I’m not particularly surprised that no female volunteer has met the requirements so far. In fact, I think it will probably take quite a while for a female candidate to be successful, given how much they tend to lag the males not just in size and strength but in advance preparation:
Interesting how it’s internet warriors on a messageboard who are loudly resisting the notion that women could ever pass the same endurance tests as men, while it’s the experienced Commander of the Marine Corps Basic School who’s convinced that eventually some women will prove capable of it.
Not as well as you think you can, apparently, or you wouldn’t have got lost in the first place.
Professional land surveyor here silly person you.
I agree. I think the person who achieves something as difficult as becoming a seal would be amused at later weak ass attempts at degradation.
If what you’re trying to say is that you don’t get lost much, then the routine joke about men who are lost being reluctant to ask for directions wouldn’t apply to you, now would it?
Don’t feel bad, though: the person who told you that joke should have explained it more carefully, remembering that men tend to have poorer verbal comprehension skills. 
Doesn’t mean that attempts at degradation don’t matter, though. Presumably gay male SEALS are also pretty tough high achievers, but we would still think it was a problem if their teammates harassed or insulted them about their orientation.
Are you bitching at me for providing a link to an article on the subject?
No, I’m just correcting your balls-up about the timeframe in which female volunteers have been attempting the Infantry Officer School and the significance to be inferred from the fact that no female volunteers so far have passed the course.
I’m planning on cheering on the tough women who get to go on combat missions.
While I sit here and defend my country by posting snide comments (maybe about Canadians… that’ll keep 'em on their side of that 49th Parallel).
The subject line of this thread came off to me as incredibly condescending for several reasons. It “poisoned the well,” in a sense (I know it doesn’t completely fit, given that it was the OP’s own chosen words, but I think you get my meaning).
I don’t know about Navy SEALS, but I for one support the idea of female special operations soldiers. Much of what they do involves language skills and negotiating with the locals. In terms of intercultural diplomacy there will be some contexts where a woman will have an edge (eg talking to a local in a burqa) and others where a guy’s touch would help. A team with a diverse skillset is a more effective team.
OMG, your clever, well crafted insult hurt me so much!
I know I once said that no one who calls me stupid is any smarter than I am, but I had no idea how right I was.
Stick to your tarded boards where people apparently think this stuff is clever.
We can burble on about this all we want. Re statements by the brass on this issue Military commanders are required to carry out orders. If the top says women will be in demanding elite squads one way or the other then that’s the party line that’s going to get parroted regardless of whether the Commander believes this as a practical matter.
If you look a the BUDS training regimen on youtube it’s literally fucking insane. The only way a genetic women is going to get through that course is if she has a combination of absolutely massive (for a woman) upper body strength, super high cardio capacity and an extremely robust (for a woman) skeletal frame. This last item is actually probably the most critical issue for success as joint and bone issues sideline many more women than men in actual combat roles because of the stress of hauling heavy packs and equipment around. The number of men who make the BUDS cut and graduate is fairly tiny. Unless the standards change the number of women who can graduate the existing course is going to be infinitesimal.
And I don’t think it’s as simple as waiting for prepared superwomen to eventually come forward. Women at the pinnacle of athletic prowess could not complete this course due to the upper body strength required. They can workout all day but some limitations are simply inherent to physiological differences.
So as someone who has watched a video on youtube as his main credentials, you believe that your opinion is more likely to be accurate than that of actual SEALs who have completed this training successfully and SEAL trainers who are responsible for administering it? (and don’t spew this BS about military brass parroting whatever message high command wants them to say - they weren’t given an order, they were asked to explore a possibility and their response is that they believe there will be female soldiers who can complete the training, but there will be other issues to deal with such as fraternization)
What was up with the year 1999? First **klaatu **and then astro? Any more of you old timers want to wave your flags of sexism in this thread?
God, this thread is stupid. You’d think by the way you guys are all assuming that women can compete with men at the extreme high end of physically demanding tasks then they’d be up there competing at the height of athletics, too, because all it takes is RAH RAH GIRL POWER, EQUALITY YO.
Where are the women pulling down ten million dollar contracts in the NFL? Why are there different leagues and competitions at the Olympics for men and women for fucks sake?
Take tennis for an example. You’d think tennis would be fairly competitive between men and women, right? You run around, you hit a ball. It’s not exactly competitive powerlifting. And yet mediocre professional men who are ranked in the 500th range in the world utterly destroy the top women players in the world. And this is nothing like the diverse set of requirements someone like a SEAL would have.
Triathletes are a poor comparison. Yes, they’re tough, and they can endure, but endurance sport participants tend to be very lean and only as strong as they need to be. Could a triathlete complete a triathalon with 70 pounds of gear, and at the end of it all, throw their 220 pound buddy on their back and carry them to safety?
We’re not talking about some run of the mill task. We’re talking about the people who are the absolute pinnacle, top of the line soldiers. Exceptional people.
I think some of you think that being a SEAL is like being on a SWAT team or something. You bust down some doors, shoot some dudes, big deal. No, SEALs can operate and thrive under the most adverse circumstances that a human being can reasonably encounter for extended periods of time. That’s what they do, it’s what they train for. This isn’t like being a regular infantry grunt just a little harder, it’s several tiers more difficult. Applications to be in the SEALs overflow every year with applicants that are exceptional. And only those most exceptional of those are invited into the program. And most of them fail.
The military in general, but special ops in particular, are not some political program to showcase equality. Those guys get into hairy situations that compromise their lives and national security on a regular basis. They need the absolute best, and you’re kidding yourselves if you think that includes women.
SenorBeef, looks like you were a couple years late, but 2001 isn’t so far off from 1999, year of the sexists.
How about we make 2013 the year where you actually refute my points rather than just throw lame labels at me?
Is it sexist to acknowledge that the best WNBA team wouldn’t beat the worst NBA team? Is it sexist to acknowledge that a woman would not win the Olympic powerlifting competition if it weren’t segregated by sex? Then why is it so weird to acknowledge that women couldn’t cut it in an area that only allows the most capable people in an area where their very basic physiology makes them ill-suited to compete?