"When I was in the USMC I was transferred out of my all male infantry unit to a coed unit for the last year of my enlistment. For the first time I had female junior Marines under my command.
On one occasion we had a unit PT, which is where all of us in the unit (200 or so Marines) would PT together. Last exercise was the rope climb. One of my male Marines, and one of my female Marines struggled to finish climbing the rope. Which prompted the same response from me, "get your ass up that rope or you'll suffer in the gym tomorrow". Both of them finished the climb.
I immediately was pulled aside by our First Sergeant. He said I had to be more gentle with female Marines. I said I absolutely refused. These aren't females. These are Marines, and I am training them to fight for their lives.
When I was ending my contract that girl and another thanked me for always treating them as Marines and not like women dressing up as Marines.
I am a military history buff. I know the stories of women murdering their ways across campaigns. Riding into combat on horseback and creating rivers of blood where they went. I'll be damned if I'm going to pretend they can't be killers in their own right."
