Military Women

So what is it like to be a woman in the military? As with anything, there are the pros and cons. I like to begin on the positive side of this subject so I will try my best to interweave it into the military life. I speak generally of the army side of the military.

The beginning stages of a soldier are to make you stronger, physically, mentally and emotionally. For females this can be very difficult due to that most of us are naturally softer in all of these areas than most males. However rest assured that thru the training that you will begin to toughen up.

It begins in the BCT(Boot Camp Training reception). Their as any were else in the army , you will not be treated as a female or get special privileges due to so, however will be treated as a soldier. The emotional and mental side is challenged first. Alot of yelling will begin and then so will the physical part. Alot of new soldiers are thrown together, many in which never received or have gone thru no military training or schooling. One person may mess up by doing something wrong and the whole platoon will get yelled at and then smoked. Smoked is the term used for physical punishment such as push ups or the side shuttle hop(jumping jacks). There are times that every soldier is on line therefore the drill sergeant will pick soldiers out for the littlest things.

This is just a beginning taste. Next is the actual boot camp training. This is rough. You will get broken down and will get dirty and possibly stinky. You will defiantly get muscle failure, there are alot of smoke sessions. These aren't times for cigarette breaks, you cant count on not getting any of those. While in this training you will become a non smokier very quickly. Also there will be no soft drinks and most times no junk foods. Everything is rushed on the trainee soldiers side, such as showers, eating, bathroom breaks, etc. You must hurry and then stand in formation for quit extended periods of times. The discipline begins as the soldiers don't want to get smoked. It doesn't mean that it stops, it can just lessen. There will always be one or a few soldiers who just make it hard on the others. These will test your patience. You will begin to use your courage and integrity to speak out to those soldiers by expressing your dissatisfaction. Everywhere you go, you will need a buddy. No exceptions. You need to use to restroom, you better not forget to grab a buddy to go with you. That's stating if you don't want to get embarrassed in front of everyone by being yelled at, followed by a smoking of you and then your whole platoon for your mistakes. After wards you are left with hard feelings.

The physical training, will get you in shape. As long as you continue to follow your physical fitness and not get lazy, you will remain physically strong. The PT as it is called, contains many stretches before and after the strenuous activities. Push ups and sit ups are build up more and more and will begin to get easy after a short while. Running will defiantly get you in shape, running at your own pace gives a good begging point if you aren't a hard runner. Being sore is a normal part of starting any physically activity that the muscles aren't use to. However is severe pain persists you really should go to the sick call and get looked at to make sure that it is nothing serious. Each evening will be leaving you exhausted.

The combat and field training is a very exciting but yet nerve racking experience to go thru. Mistakes are normally meant to learn from in the civilian world. However are serious in the event if something unfortunate would happen in the military. If you mess up and make a mistake, expect to get yelled at! You would not want to be the cause of an injury or death to self or others especially by a weapon. You must remain focused, alert and strong in all areas. In the real scenario anything could happen and you aren't trained to deal with these in effective ways. This is fun training if you pay attention to detail and do what is right.

Graduation will come quickly and then the next training will begin, which is the AIT. You will train for your MOS, military job as well as field, combat, and physical training. Not much will have changed from BCT, however with time there are more privileges and freedoms than in BCT. As they are given, they can be taken away very quickly. It only takes one soldier to ruin it for hundreds. In AIT you can use your cell phones, laptops, earn passes for the weekends. These days are also long, however most of the weekend is free time.

You will still face many smoke sections and it wont end here, but you're now physically strong so they aren't as difficult. Now these sessions just leave you Little upset about what led to the session. What was not done? Who did it? What did they do? The leaders will make it clear to everyone why the smoking session occurred.
Some just don't learn though. Soldiers are people being trained to be more disciplined and you will see their true sides during this training period, still be cautious of back stabbers. You will learn who your true buddies are quickly.

So what else does all of this make it any different for the females then the males. Quite frankly there are two more reasons that I can think of. First is the fact that we menstruate. In BCT you are thrown into a large room with sixty or more females. Alot of hormones cause imbalance of your menstrual cycle. You may get your cycle late, few times more or less, you just know know. Carry feminine products on you just in case. I also encourage a zip lock bag a wipes in the event of an expected occurrence so that you can clean off as good as you can. Also there could be some embarrassment of having to approach your drill sergeant to let him/her know that this occurred, especially if you were unprepared for it.

My last reasoning would be due to the fact that most men are naturally stronger than females therefore they feel women shouldn't been in the military. This can make it harder on the females as males expect you to reach their standards especially in physically fitness. This isn't saying that all male soldiers discriminate against female soldiers. All soldier are trained not to do so. However there are occasions that it does still occur. Many males just think that the women should still just be homemakers. Don't let the physical aspect get to you. It is possible to max out your physical results, you may have to train harder and longer but you can be just as strong. I have seen it many, many times but different soldiers. It's not the sex of the soldier, it is the emotional, mental and physical limitations that they allow to be placed on themselves.