Old Question , But In Need To Know!

[mechanic_chick]

My brother has the work out for Marines.. I think Ill steal it from  him.

Thats good to hear though , its all about state of mind.. regardless of the gender , being little is a bit rough.. but its been done right? Thats good to hear.

If there are any woman infanteers.. or woman who did bmq / sq..  feel free to email me and just tell me how yah felt about it , just physcially  what you did to ' keep up ' , more pointers the better.

Thanks again!

 

[Spooks]

My four rubles worth...

We had females on our basic course who got transferred to another platoon when we hit SQ. In basic, they didn't have too many problems being that there were a lot of females going ofr other trades and that. The testing they performed okay on but it was the phyical work that blew them away. In basic, I believe (been almost 3ys since basic) you're only expected to run 5km max w/o problems. Heck, even some guys didn't do 5km. The upperbody stuff was painful for them but remember that in basic it isn't all that bad there as even sailors *duck* have to do it.

In SQ and BIQ you eliminate the other two elements and the other army trades surrounding you is narrowed a lot. 5km is what we went on every morning (rather than the once a week in basic) and you start doing more phyically-demanding things. The weapons tests are like the rifle you do in basic, just end up getting the check marks during the test and it's all good.  On that note, all the classroom stuff is fairly dry and easy to understand. For SQ it isn't until the fieldwork that you have a real look at what's inside you. Digging a trench is always a lot of work because the site chosen has crappy ground. Then come rehersals for attacks and that is the longest and most demanding on that course (there are other things like patrols and using a compass that end up being not as hard as this). In an attack, it's a lot of sprinting short distances. They tire you out and the slower you sprint, the more of them you gotta do. Capping all that off with a rucksack march is how it ends.

BIQ is where you end up getting tested by full infanteers. If you are to graduate there, you may be the one covering their *** so they may want to weed out the bad apples. Weapons again, with some good hitory on the regiment. Inspections end up being more nit-picky and weapon maintenance is number one. AFV lessons are insanely dry but extremely useful. Take note of every difference taught there beause the test for it is real tricky. The physical fitness of it is insane as your runs will be increased but you may get the pleasure of doing pullups and/or pushups before you enter buildings so you upperbody is good enough for where it's needed. Attacks are a lot of up-downs and now your enemy may not be in line so you may have to move to be in line. You may be able to run like no tomorrow normally, but during an attack you will get tired and winded. You  get tested on sleep deprivation an how well you react to that, and you also get to do everything else in your day along with no sleep at night. Everything is increasing hough to test if you will break under duress. You may even have a night dedicated to stress as you run around like stupid, change yours clothes a lot, do inspections, and other things in less-than-needed time just to make you stress-meter fly off the wall. There will be a lot of yelling and even for things that you can't see. It's designed to give you a hard go because when you're under a lot of stress, it checks what kind of person you are under it all. Are you still a team-player? Do you start picking on the weakest link with everyone else? Do you give up?

Out of the 4 women on the course ahead of us, 2 gradded. One got messed up on a rucksack march where she slipped a disc, and another got out of the trade with stress. The other two finished but not without a chat about the trade because they were alway lagging in attacks and overall performance was just on par. All the while they were pushed just as hard as the guys to see if they may break.

Course is not fun and doing things to your disadvantage makes it worse. The biggest thing is physical fortitude but also never single yourself among the crowd. Do not get into relationships on course (it is tempting) because it clouds judgement and you have the potential of being labelled by the rest of the group - singling out. Never pull the 'I'm girl card' out or you will be picked on. Take the punishment with everyone because that shows that you are a teamplayer. On course, you have no freetime as it is all theirs and they will give it out as they see fit. In my BIQ, some had to stay behind and clean their weapons so everyone helped them. Why have one guy take 9hrs to do something and lose a weekend when you can have 8 guys helping and get it done in 30mins? I'm not saying that you shouldn't enjoy your weekends, but remeber that you are on course and you better get ready to get beasted on Monday again.

Some get out because it's too stressful, some get out because they can't get the right boot on their foot. If you graduate, life isn't al that bad because life in the Regiment is a lot less stress. I'm not saying it's gone, just when it needs to be it is. Your old instructors may even not like getting beasted and complain when it does come down. Excercises are always a wa for you officers to test the group so they are never fun. Tours are different because you just are expected to turn it on in an instant. All the while, best luck to you.

-Spooks

 

[dynaglide]

Grab some sort of back pack, load it up with about 60 lbs to start and go walk/jog about 10 km.  If this seems a difficult task, then lighten the load and keep trying.  Also, try to be able to run a 6 minute mile in running shoes and gym clothes.  Be strong enough to do 20 full extention chin ups, 40 men's style push ups and 50 sit ups.  These aren't CF standards, but if you can do this, you should be off to a good start.  The SAS produced an excellent workout book a few years back.  Get that one down, and you will be dragging the guys around!  Here you go, maybe try one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/explorer/1578261325/2/ref=pd_sexpl/002-6877829-5258454

I have worked with women that were absolutely switched on and could hump kit as well as any of us.  I have also worked with women who couldn't carry a ham sandwich and would cry when they were yelled at for falling out of a march.  If you can keep up, and not be a liability to the platoon, you will do fine.  That is advice that is gender non-specific, BTW.  Anchors are genderless.

While I'm all for getting as fit as possible, I don't know many people in the CF who can get 20 good chin-ups.(male or female).  10-12 would be a better starting goal I would think.  My 2 cents... 

 

[GO!!!]

While I'm all for getting as fit as possible, I don't know many people in the CF who can get 20 good chin-ups

If she wants to be an infanteer, this is indeed a realistic goal, and a great many troops and officers do it on a regular basis.

 

[Centurian1985]

To amplify what several others have already said...

As a smaller person, you will be at the mercy of kit designed for larger people.

Carefully pack your rucksack to avoid too much weight in the lower section which may ride very low on you, keep it centered higher so your legs are free.  This however results in tighter shoulder straps and cutting into the muscles there.

Avoid putting objects and kit into any of your pants pockets, it slows down your running speed.

DO NOT get into a relationship with any of your course members, members on other courses, and especially staff!  Not just on basic but on any course. (Yes, its punishable by CF orders if between students and instructors but it still happens although very rarely these days!).  It not only demonstrates that you are not 100% serious about the training (why are you having sex when you should be shining your shoes soldier!! How can you fight the enemy if you dont have shiny shoes!!!) it can also indicate a potential weakness in not being able to stand on your own (forming relationships often demonstrates a need for support not just sex), it usually attributes the worst kind of reputation onto the women involved. 

Take unarmed combat lessons - there will always be some ass who will try to manhandle you because 'you're a woman' or because of your size - not during training, but in a bar somewhere where you and friends are hanging out, or if working with lower ranks in other cultures.

Finally..... dont take the top bunk? Dont want to twist an ankle jumping out of bed in the morning...

 

[mechanic_chick]

" It not only demonstrates that you are not 100% serious about the training (why are you having sex when you should be shining your shoes soldier!! How can you fight the enemy if you dont have shiny shoes!!! "


I laughed incredibly hard when I read the part in brackets. Hilarious , TRUE mind you , but rather hilarious.

It's very true , woman with potential of being so great usually screw themsevles over but doing.. well.. exaclty that lol. It's definetly a shame , but very noted. And works both  ways right? I told alot of my guy friends , and girlfriends that going on course even having a bf / gf back home who you are only half serious with isn't the best idea in the world. You're sitting there on the phone arguing while others are getting things done... Yeah , not too good.

Physically you guys really pinpointed that for me , im very thankfull. It's really great advice anyone can take  , not just for the ladies , but for maybe smaller people in general who have to keep up to Rambo on rucksacks etc etc..


Thanks again!

Jesso

 

[45B]

gijesso  ,

I got my personal opinion on women in the combat arms, based on what I experienced. But you also got your, and I have to respect that.

My personal advices:
PULL YOUR WEIGHT. I mean you plus your kit. If you can carry you ruck (minimum 55 lbs), a C6, plus a few extra kit, you gonna have way more respect! And you have to be able to do that in the mountains. If you dont do that, you WONT have respect, and you gonna be promoted Canteen Manager.

Gradually train yourself to speed march with a rucksack. Go to an army surplus and go buy combat boots and a ruck. Start with 6km twice a week. Then go for at least one 13k a week. If you can do more faster thats good. 13k is very easy. If I remember well, in Panama the US Ranger had something like 35k+ ruckmarch with 100 lbs of kit. If you want to be infantry, you should try to be ready for combat, not just for the training standards.

Run at least twice a week. I recommend 40 min hard runs. Get used to push yourself. Circuit training is your friend. Run, push, run, push.

Do push ups.

Do supported situps.

Build your mind. Seek challenges.

It wont hurt to do some reading too. Take a look at the Army Online Librairy. Its on the web.

If you are not comfy in the water, work on it.

Fireman carry: do heavy squats. For the training you might just have to pull another 108 lbs girl.  But in the real world you may have to RUN with a 200 guy on your back. Even more!

Physical Training is for the rest of your life. Always improve yourself. What seems hard now will be easy after years.

For now, dont worry too much about any field craft, they gonna teach you. Focus on fitness.

PULL YOUR WEIGHT. Have a good attitude.


my 2 cents worth

 

[JBP]

There is a girl in my regiment who is almost exactly the same size as you... I think I remember her actually saying she's like 95lbs...

She is 16 years old... She's a baby for crying out loud! Mind you, this is the RESERVES I'm talking about, but she passed everything and made it to become and Infanteer, they did not give her any less flack than anyone else if she screwed up. I remember one specific time when she was torn into hardcore for forgetting her C-7 in the bathroom on basic... I mean torn a new a$$hole really... She put up with everything just like the rest of us...

And you know what? She never complained once... She made a good troop... Sure she could barely carry the C-6 w/ammo because it weighed 2/3 as much as she did, but she did it and lugged everything else around as ordered JUST LIKE THE REST OF US.

Basically pay no attention to the fact your a girl, everyone is the same in the military and that's how you'll be treated by the instructors. Just like the drill instructor for Full Metal Jacket said, "Your all equally worthless!"... Until you become and infanteer.

Everyone respected her because she took the shit and dished it back out just as well as the rest of us.

Only issue I would say she had was on our first couple of ruckmarch's she did have trouble because of the weight distribution problem someone mentioned earlier. Pack all the heavy crap up TOP of the rucksack and make sure you pull everything as tight as it will go so your sleeping kit isn't bouncing off your ass with every step you take.

Goodluck, sounds like you've got a 'hard-on' to be a soldier. Prove it.

 

[45B]

A few hints for ruckmarches:
put two pairs of socks. One wool, the other one of cotton. change socks after each 1h30min or 2h , and put some powder. Drink many little quantities of water often. Dont wait until you feel thirsty. Add a bit of salt for electrolytes, or put gaterade. For long runs you need electrolytes, not just water. Bring some snack bars and put them into an easily accessible pouch.
If you can, get used to carry a rifle. You can use a stick, although it is very light.
Personaly, I put the heavy stuff along my back, because the farther it is of your back, the more it gonna put you off balance. In the field, at the top, you put what you will need quickly, regardless of the weight. That means anything needed for combat, ie a claymore, extra ammo, colored smoke for marking, IV bag. By top I mean rapidly available. It can be a pouch. You have to be able to get it fast in the dark, and preferably with gloves.

 

[mechanic_chick]

Thanks everyone , foudn out im blind as a bat and cant go combat arms until I have my eyes corrected! Lol so... Navy here I come ( please dont hit me ) , im infantry at heart lol.. And yeah , I'll get my eyes fixed over my 3 years and vr and go 031 , no joke , I wa very very upset when I found I couldnt go infantry! I do believe I even shed' a tear haha.. weird. Anywho. Thanks for all the great advice Im sure many people can use , despite the trade , as will I use in my new path for the forces.

Thanks!


jesso

 

[exsemjingo]

You want to be in the infantry, but you are a female.

What do the feminists say?  They say: "There is no difference between men and women."
Therefore, pretend you are a 108lb man, and train as if you were to be judged by the CF's male standards.
Then you will be successful.