Retention and Recruitment Crisis

[Devildoc]

If they dropped the requirement from 6 graded ruck marches, to three graded ruck marches, and then eliminated a pass or fail endurance test - all in an effort to lower the attrition rate, then it doesn't matter to me WHAT gender they are discussing - what they have really done is compromise a standard.

If that standard was artificially elevated PURELY so that women couldn't readily pass - then there is a different discussion to be had.

But when the standard has been cut by over half of its previous performance level - and now women are routinely passing - then the article claiming that the standard hasn't changed is simply untrue.
The standard has been lowered.
...was it lowered so women could pass?
I dont know.
Was it lowered so that everyone could pass?
I dont know that either.
Is the standard lower than it used to be.
Yes. I'm going with yes - Final Answer.

The standard may be "equal" but the word "equal" has been diluted. Which only makes sense since most of us on this board have already agreed that "standards" is a word equally diluted by todays culture.

I agree with all of this. I don't think changing the standard was aimed at women (since they comprise such a small fraction of infantry officer candidates), but they are the disproportionate recipients of that change. In the case of the IOC I would be interested in seeing performance of the officers before the changes and after the changes to see if there was any degradation of performance.

The other conversation that needs to be had regardless of gender and across the military at large is, why is a standard a standard? Is it vetted and validated, or just some arbitrarily set 'thing' or 'number' that was invented because something had to be put on paper?

 

[Box]

The other conversation that needs to be had regardless of gender and across the military at large is, why is a standard a standard? Is it vetted and validated, or just some arbitrarily set 'thing' or 'number' that was invented because something had to be put on paper?

For the longest time - the swim test was a prerequisite to even attending selection. Then things started getting retooled. At one point it was moved until later in the course - all the while the brass arguing that they didn't lower the standard - because you still have to do the swim test - even though it is no longer a prereq

"standards" and all that jazz

 

[TLDR20]

For the longest time - the swim test was a prerequisite to even attending selection. Then things started getting retooled. At one point it was moved until later in the course - all the while the brass arguing that they didn't lower the standard - because you still have to do the swim test - even though it is no longer a prereq

"standards" and all that jazz

I took a swim test in selection, and again in the Q course.

 

[Box]

It was a prerequisite when I went - the first thing we did. In fact, you didn't even take the PT test until after you passed the swim test.


Its all good though - why do we even need to swim when we are driving armored trucks through the desert...
...standards are so silly.

 

[Devildoc]

It was a prerequisite when I went - the first thing we did. In fact, you didn't even take the PT test until after you passed the swim test.


Its all good though - why do we even need to swim when we are driving armored trucks through the desert...
...standards are so silly.

Yeahhhhh. I always thought was odd.

That's one 'good' thing about Navy and Marine boot camp, you know how to swim, or you don't graduate.