U.S. Army Considers Reversing ‘Gender-Neutral Physical Test’ After Majority Of Women Fail To Keep Up With Men
U.S. Army Considers Reversing ‘Gender-Neutral Physical Test’ After Majority Of Women Fail To Keep Up With Men
The United States Army is reportedly considering doing away with its new “gender-neutral physical test” after test results showed that the majority of women failed while approximately 90 percent of men passed. Officials are reportedly considering having different evaluation categories for men and women due to the physiological differences between the two.
“Research showed that the Army Combat Fitness Test [ACFT], which is the same for male and female soldiers, was leading to lower results for women with a knock-on effect for promotions,” The Telegraph reported. “An early Pentagon study showed that women were failing the ACFT at a rate of 65 per cent, while only 10 percent of men did.”
A report from last fall found that 54 percent of women failed the test while only 7 percent of men failed it.
The report said that Congress, which is controlled by the Democrats, stopped the new program from being implemented and the Army is reviewing whether it is fair. Congress does not want the test as it is current constructed to factor into opportunities for advancement, the report said.
“In the ACFT there are six events – the maximum deadlift, a standing power throw, hand-release push-ups, a sprint, drag and carry, leg tuck, and a two-mile run,” the report added. “To pass the test those taking it must score at least 360 points out of a possible 600, and those who achieve higher scores are more likely to be promoted. However, average sores for women so far are said to have been 100 points lower.”
The report said that officials were expected to change the way that at least one of the exercises could be completed, which they said improved women’s test scores.
Congress has now declared that the test in its current form should not be a factor in deciding whether someone gets promoted. Officials were also considering whether to use “gender-specific” percentile groupings when it came time to review potential promotions.
“All they are going to see for evaluation is which percentile the soldier falls into,” an Army official told Military.com last month. “The gender identity will not be included in that information. If anything, it’s a more gender-neutral assessment process because it doesn’t show the raw scores.”
Captain Kristen Griest, the Army’s first female infantry officer, wrote last month that “lowering fitness standards to accommodate women will hurt the Army–and women.”
Griest said that implementing “gender-based scoring” or reducing “the minimum standards for combat arms” would “have both immediate and insidious impacts on combat effectiveness, as well as on women’s credibility and potential.”
“The entire purpose of creating a gender-neutral test was to acknowledge the reality that each job has objective physical standards to which all soldiers should be held, regardless of gender,” she wrote. “The intent was not to ensure that women and men will have an equal likelihood of meeting those standards. Rather, it is incumbent upon women who volunteer for the combat arms profession to ensure they are fully capable and qualified for it. To not require women to meet equal standards in combat arms will not only undermine their credibility, but also place those women, their teammates, and the mission at risk.”
All of this comes as members of the U.S. Military, under the leadership of Democrat President Joe Biden, recently used official government resources to launch political attacks against Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The attacks came following Carlson’s call-out of the military after Biden said during a press conference last week that the military was making “good progress” by “creating maternity flight suits” and “updating requirements for their hair styles.”
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