Women in the infantry

Subject: FW: Women in the infantry.

Today's news is of women being encouraged to enlist in the ranks of the front line infantry and also into the ranks of the commando regiments.
Is my regret at what I see as yet another example of Politically Correct madness simply  part of an ageist prejudice seeing this last bastion of male exclusivity trashed, as we are forced to rush helter-skelter towards the goal of gender equality, or is it based on something more rational.
The feminists are confident that this alignment of gender roles is nothing more than natural justice, a levelling of the playing field but to my mind it comes down to a question which is always asked, are women the same in every respect as men. If the answer is yes then there is no argument and let the girls roll their sleeves up and face the combat but if you believe as I do that women differ in so many ways from men and that it is only the force of the feminist argument about equality which pushes them into arguing that we are all the same.
 Even amongst the same gender the attributes, both physical and mental between men differ greatly and whilst there is a presumption that you can make a soldier out of any man it simply isn't true. Temperament, physical strength, emotional factors make up the variable to such an extent that when you add factors governing gender into the mix then whilst one should never discount the fact that there may be a tiny minority who fit the mental profile to put themselves in the front line and be expected to kill in hand to hand combat the sheer lack of strength puts a woman at a disadvantage. This fundamental disadvantage can play havoc with a team in combat where great reliance is made on what your fellow troopie.
There is a reason in sport where men do not compete directly with women because women would be disadvantaged and would never win where strength and physical endurance were require. Rugby, football, athletics, the list is endless where women can not compete with men. Mentally strong (they are probably stronger than a man) but in terms of sheer 'grunt' they don't come close.
The army is all about 'grunt', and unless the standards are lowered to accommodate the weakness then in fitness and endurance they will be behind the men. If more is expected of the man, then this will be a bone of contention in the force so the standards will have to be reduced for men as well. To introduce a fighting force which is not competitive into the field of combat should never be allowed to happen and to this end I feel this example of an ideological dream should remain just that.