izzyscout21
01-30-2012, 06:38 PM
LadyHK13 brought up a great point and got me thinking.............
Before you even read on, let's get some things out in the open.
You all know me by now, and know that I am in NO WAY gender biased.
Pleased consider this post in that light. I am simply stating this to get you ladies to think a little. It applies just as much to the smaller framed. guys.
This is not a "Women can't do it as well as men" thread. Dont even go there.
DO NOT LET THIS TURN INTO A GENDER PISSING MATCH. I WILL LOCK IT DOWN.
From MSNBC:
Female troops are about 20 percent more likely than their male counterparts to report musculoskeletal disorders, and poorly fitting body armor could at least in part be a factor. For female aviators, dehydration can be a hazard if they opt not to drink water before flights, and those who wait too long to use the bathroom can experience urinary problems.
Some of the challenges for women came up in focus groups conducted with both male and female service members, a majority of whom reported that the equipment given to females was inadequate, "including, but not limited to poor quality or outdated equipment, lack of necessary equipment, tardy issue of equipment, and equipment not sized or designed for women," according to a 2009 report by the Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. The report noted that the problems weren't always confined to women.
"When your gear doesn't fit right, it's going to make you more vulnerable and less effective," said Spc. Chandra Banks, 27, an Army reservist who has done two tours in Iraq and now works as a research fellow for the nonprofit Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
Banks said she noticed improvements in her body armor during her second deployment, but because the armor was so large it still chafed her hips when she had to sit for hours in a Humvee, and aggravated a knee injury because of the armor's unevenly distributed weight. She said better-fitting body armor would also make it easier to position a rifle or machine gun for shooting.
Ladies, there have been numerous studies to this effect. Poorly fitting armor can result in a number of medical conditions ranging from simple fatigue all the may to muscular and skeletal problem. Let's be honest. Ladies, you're not built the same way as us guys. God did not design you to carry lots of heavy combat weight on your frame for extended periods of time. I'm not saying you CAN"T do it, but you need to put much more thought into it than the men folk.
I urge you all to consider what your loadout is consisted of and weigh the advantages/ disadvantages of what you plan on carrying. Carrying too much gear that you dont plan on using could be hazardous to your health.
My wife's loadout is much, much lighter than mine. Why?
For starters, shes petite. That in and of itself should be an obvious factor.
Secondly, my wife does not plan on being in any direct contact. For that matter, neither do I. But for the sake of this piece, the reasoning is that she has another primary role. Her primary duty should we be in a shooting situation is to watch over and protect the kids. As such, her gear is lighter and much more streamlined. She carries only the basic necessities. Some ammo, a knife, and a first aid kit. SHe doesn't even carry water. Water is heavy, she wont be far from me or another water source.
Sure, will she help out if needed. If I need backup and shes the only one, you bet your ass she'll start shooting. But that is not her primary job.
I'm sure many of you ladies are like my wife in her thinking. She expects ME to do the brunt of the fighting. No argument there. That one is simple. I'm the fighter, she isn't. I'm trained, she isn't. I've DONE IT. She hasn't.
If you plan on having any sort of fighting gear, please, please, for the sake of your longterm health, pick your armor well and your loadout carefully. It should fit snugly. It should be comfortable. It shouldn''t shift around if you jump, walk, crawl, or run. Try it on. Wear it around. If it's too heavy, tell your hubby (if he put it together), and consider removing things that arent needed.
Izzy
Before you even read on, let's get some things out in the open.
You all know me by now, and know that I am in NO WAY gender biased.
Pleased consider this post in that light. I am simply stating this to get you ladies to think a little. It applies just as much to the smaller framed. guys.
This is not a "Women can't do it as well as men" thread. Dont even go there.
DO NOT LET THIS TURN INTO A GENDER PISSING MATCH. I WILL LOCK IT DOWN.
From MSNBC:
Female troops are about 20 percent more likely than their male counterparts to report musculoskeletal disorders, and poorly fitting body armor could at least in part be a factor. For female aviators, dehydration can be a hazard if they opt not to drink water before flights, and those who wait too long to use the bathroom can experience urinary problems.
Some of the challenges for women came up in focus groups conducted with both male and female service members, a majority of whom reported that the equipment given to females was inadequate, "including, but not limited to poor quality or outdated equipment, lack of necessary equipment, tardy issue of equipment, and equipment not sized or designed for women," according to a 2009 report by the Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. The report noted that the problems weren't always confined to women.
"When your gear doesn't fit right, it's going to make you more vulnerable and less effective," said Spc. Chandra Banks, 27, an Army reservist who has done two tours in Iraq and now works as a research fellow for the nonprofit Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
Banks said she noticed improvements in her body armor during her second deployment, but because the armor was so large it still chafed her hips when she had to sit for hours in a Humvee, and aggravated a knee injury because of the armor's unevenly distributed weight. She said better-fitting body armor would also make it easier to position a rifle or machine gun for shooting.
Ladies, there have been numerous studies to this effect. Poorly fitting armor can result in a number of medical conditions ranging from simple fatigue all the may to muscular and skeletal problem. Let's be honest. Ladies, you're not built the same way as us guys. God did not design you to carry lots of heavy combat weight on your frame for extended periods of time. I'm not saying you CAN"T do it, but you need to put much more thought into it than the men folk.
I urge you all to consider what your loadout is consisted of and weigh the advantages/ disadvantages of what you plan on carrying. Carrying too much gear that you dont plan on using could be hazardous to your health.
My wife's loadout is much, much lighter than mine. Why?
For starters, shes petite. That in and of itself should be an obvious factor.
Secondly, my wife does not plan on being in any direct contact. For that matter, neither do I. But for the sake of this piece, the reasoning is that she has another primary role. Her primary duty should we be in a shooting situation is to watch over and protect the kids. As such, her gear is lighter and much more streamlined. She carries only the basic necessities. Some ammo, a knife, and a first aid kit. SHe doesn't even carry water. Water is heavy, she wont be far from me or another water source.
Sure, will she help out if needed. If I need backup and shes the only one, you bet your ass she'll start shooting. But that is not her primary job.
I'm sure many of you ladies are like my wife in her thinking. She expects ME to do the brunt of the fighting. No argument there. That one is simple. I'm the fighter, she isn't. I'm trained, she isn't. I've DONE IT. She hasn't.
If you plan on having any sort of fighting gear, please, please, for the sake of your longterm health, pick your armor well and your loadout carefully. It should fit snugly. It should be comfortable. It shouldn''t shift around if you jump, walk, crawl, or run. Try it on. Wear it around. If it's too heavy, tell your hubby (if he put it together), and consider removing things that arent needed.
Izzy