Military: Women won't improve combat readiness

Re: “Facing last hurdle to women in combat” (Tom Philpott column, 1-24).

Gen. John F. Kelly made it clear, speaking diplomatically, that he is against Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s decision allowing women to serve in every combat job.

Kelly is retiring after 45 years of service, including two combat tours. Kelly lost a son to combat in Afghanistan. President Obama is putting pressure on the Marine Corps to lower its physical standards in order for women to join the infantry, and that is exactly what Kelly is worried about.

Military social engineering is dangerous and needs to stop. It has been promoted by Democrats Bill Clinton (an admitted draft dodger) and more recently by Obama and Carter. Neither served in the military.

Twenty-nine female officers have challenged the Marine Infantry Officer’s Course, and all failed. Men on average have at least 25 pounds of muscle more than women.

Would the addition of women in combat really improve the war fighting capabilities of our ground troops? Could the American people stomach an Islamic State video of a captured female soldier being tortured, then beheaded? I think we all know the answers.

This story was originally published January 29, 2016 at 2:40 PM with the headline "Military: Women won't improve combat readiness."