THE LEDGER-STAR
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 13, 1995 TAG: 9502130193
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN ESTRIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NATICK, MASS. LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
If a new Army project goes according to plan, Patricia Foster should be one of the guys by September.
She and about 40 other women will begin a weight training program next month designed to give them the strength to perform heavy military tasks typically assigned to men.
For those running the six-month project, it's not a question of whether women can become as strong as some men, but how long it takes before they are.
``My opinion is that women can be as strong as men if they are properly trained,'' said Foster, 27. ``A muscle is a muscle and it should do the same regardless of gender.''
The project - which is using civilians because there aren't enough female enlistees available - is part of Congress' $20 million Defense Women's Health Research Project to prepare women for battle.
Foster and the other women, who range in age from 18 to 32, will train for 1 1/2 hours, five days a week, for 24 weeks. They will lift weights, climb stairs, run hills and hike with packs weighing up to 75 pounds on their backs.
The reward for this grueling schedule - in addition to a well-conditioned body - is $500 apiece.
``It's the kind of work soldiers would do in the field,'' said physiologist Peter Frykman. Frykman is running the project at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine with physiologist Everett Harman, who specializes in strength and conditioning.
Studies have shown that a woman's upper body strength is roughly 50 percent to 60 percent of a man's, while lower body strength is about 70 percent, Harman said. He believes women could be as strong as many men if they improved their strength by 50 percent.
If that is the case, then women should be able to perform as well in the military as the male soldiers - both in and out of combat, Harman said.
The issue, however, is as much about politics as physiology.
House Speaker Newt Gingrich drew criticism last month for telling college students that women are not meant for battle.
``If combat means living in a ditch, females have biological problems staying in a ditch for 30 days because they get infections and they don't have upper body strength,'' the Georgia Republican said. ``I mean some do, but they're relatively rare. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Patricia Foster, 27, tests her ability to increase her strength so
she can perform heavy work normally assigned to male soldiers.
KEYWORDS: WOMEN IN THE MILITARY STUDY by CNB