“Dumbing down” is a concept first applied to education. It’s the too-often-demonstrated reality that, if students find their lessons too hard, educators opt to make the lessons dumber, because it’s easier than trying to force students to think harder. But “dumbing down” has come to be deployed across more than education: in sports, for instance, there’s now ribbons and medals for everything down to 10th place – or even just for showing up.
Now, this sort of dumbing down might not matter much in a high school history test or little league competition, but it’s a whole other ball game when it happens in elite academic courses. Do you really want the girl designing your bridge or the guy about to slice open your chest to have only got in because someone made the test easier?
For that matter, do you want your country to be defended by the strongest, fittest, toughest warriors – or a diversity hire?
Women are lining up to attempt the Army’s elite fighting course after the first female soldier to pass said she wants to dispel the military’s alpha male myth.
Private Addy Carter, 21, said she hoped to inspire other female troops after she passed the All Arms Pre Parachute Selection, known as P Company.
The three-and-a-half week course at Catterick, North Yorkshire, culminates in the gruelling eight events of Test Week, including loaded marches, log and stretcher races and an aerial confidence course.
But did she pass exactly the same test as the men? The same load, the same distance in the same time?
I’m willing to bet: no.
Because that’s exactly what’s happened everywhere else in woke, Western militaries, from basic training to elite unit course.
For instance, the minimum fitness requirements for Australian Army recruits include 15 push-ups for men… only eight for women.
The NZDF sets out the following minimum standards for male recruits: 7.10 on the Beep Test, five push-ups, and 35 sit-ups. For women: 5.09, one and 25, respectively.
Similarly, the US Army sets a minimum standard for males (17-21) of 35 push-ups, 47 sit-ups and 16:36 for a two-mile run. For females, on the other hand, it’s 13, 11 and 19:42.
When the Marines found that only four out of 29 women completed the first day of its Infantry Officer Course and none graduated (just nine out of 90 males failed to complete the course), they lowered the female requirements until they did. The US Air Force similarly lowered its standards to allow women to complete its elite Special Tactics training course.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Pte Carter, of 16 Medical Regiment, which provides medical support to 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, said she wanted to “dispel” the myth that the Parachute Regiment is alpha male.
She added that when she expressed interest in completing the course she was “supported the whole way” by her superiors. “I’ve always been treated equally to the males and I’ve found there is no difference,” she said.
Telegraph
But has she, really? An FOI request for such information in 2019 was met with stonewalling and, finally, an evasive answer that completely failed to address the specific information requested, including the pass rate of females compared to males, how far females progressed before failing and the fitness standards required of each sex.
This is not to say that Pte Carter is not a fit woman, certainly far fitter than me – but that’s beside the point. This is supposed to be an elite unit: for good reason. Would we expect them to lower their standards to address the lack of overweight, middle-aged men in the unit? What about wheelchair-bound soldiers?
There’s no place for participation trophies on the battlefield.