Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 12, 1995 TAG: 9508140077
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
``Why? Because I don't think they can do it,'' the four-star general said in an interview Friday.
Krulak, who took over as the Marine Corps' top officer July 1, said he does not doubt women have the intelligence and courage it takes to fight on the battlefield.
``It just is damn tough being a grunt,'' he said, using the slang for a Marine infantryman.
He believes, as do most other U.S. military leaders, that the physical challenge is too great. As Krulak put it, ``Humping a lot of gear for a long distance and then putting steel on target [firing a weapon with accuracy],'' is too much to ask of female Marines.
Women make up 4.7 percent of the Marine Corps - by far the smallest proportion of the uniformed services, although the share has grown in recent years.
Krulak, 53, has many changes in mind for the Marines, but he sees no reason to drop the existing prohibition against women serving in infantry, artillery and armored units. Women, however, can serve in combat support roles, such as engineering, which in time of war face the same risk of direct enemy fire.
The Army has the same prohibitions.
Krulak said he is ``more on the side of women than most Marine generals,'' and he is working on ways to knock down psychological barriers to their success.
He cited as an example the practice at Marine boot camp of making men run twice as long as women in physical fitness tests.
``What signal do we send to the Corps when, at the end of a mile and a half, all the women drop off to the side and the men keep running?'' Krulak said. ``To me, that's insanity.
``I'm going to do away with those things that send a signal to my Marine Corps women and men that women are somehow - in their mind - disadvantaged.''
He will continue the practice of requiring men to achieve faster speeds than women for the same test grade; he said this is based on the same logic as the practice of making younger men run faster than older men for the same grade.
Krulak acknowledged that women recruits are dropping out of boot camp at much higher rates than men, but he indicated he was not particularly troubled by that.
``I'm not sure it's a problem,'' he said. ``I think there's a high attrition rate because Marine Corps recruit training is really tough, and for women coming out of this society, it's very tough. I'm probably going to make it tougher.''
Last year, 20 percent of female recruits dropped out of boot camp, compared with 13 percent of men. In officer training camp, the dropout rate for women is even higher.
Col. Fred Peck, a Marine Corps spokesman, said the service is making an effort to better prepare female recruits for the physical rigors of boot camp. Women are now being shown a boot camp videotape when they sign up for the Marines.
``Psychologically, we weren't preparing them for how tough it can be,'' Peck said.
by CNB