Women’s body size and body mechanics will make assuming infantry roles difficult, an official at the Veteran Health Association (VHA) told Military.com.
Dr. David Cifu, national director of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the VHA, said most women will have a hard time keeping up with infantry soldiers, who must often carry more than 80 pounds of gear for extended periods of time. Military.com reports:
Women already have shown they can overcome bias and sexism, as well as engage the enemy -- they’ve been doing it in Iraq and Afghanistan. But on average, they have less body weight and are weaker than men.
A signature injury of America’s latest wars has been musculoskeletal, cases of which exceed the number of wounds from firefights and improvised explosive devices.
One study found that between 2004 and 2007, about a third of medical evacuations from the Iraq and Afghan theaters were due to musculoskeletal, connective tissue and spinal injuries.
There is no first-hand data, since women are not yet serving as infantrymen, but Cifu said that if women carry the same loads as their male counterparts, they are at more risk of these kinds of injuries "given the ratio of their size and strength to the packs."
The Army commission said it had no intentions of lowering standards.
The Army is working to lighten the load of soldiers. Improvements in light-weight armor may help, but other items, such as ammo and water cannot be made lighter.