ADF’s ‘politically-correct plan’ to open combat roles to women branded a complete failure
AUSTRALIA’S GI Jane’s are failing to meet the army’s fitness requirements with only one in 10 getting through basic infantry training.
NSW
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AUSTRALIA’S GI Jane’s are failing to meet the army’s fitness requirements with only one in 10 getting through basic infantry training.
The Australian Defence Force has targeted women but just 24 of the 154 who signed up to go into battle since 2016 have actually managed to join a combat unit.
The 10 full-time female soldiers have been posted to the 1st Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment in Townsville.
The other 14 reservists have been posted to different units.
Former Army officer Bernard Gaynor said: “The Army’s politically-correct plan to open infantry and other combat roles to women is a complete failure.”
Last year The Daily Telegraph revealed the ADF had sent out weekly targets to recruiters that showed no targets for men in 35 of 50 Army positions with the instruction to “recruit immediately” if a woman came forward for combat roles.
Australian Defence Force figures released to senate estimates show that 10 women joined the Army’s female-only pre-conditioning program aimed at getting them fit enough to start regular training but two dropped out.
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Just 72 of the 152 women recruited to be infantry soldiers who started recruit training at Kapooka managed to pass the basic course. Of those, only 24 were able to complete the infantry’s basic initial employment training course at Singleton.
Senate Estimates was also told that a quarter of the females who passed this course have since been medically downgraded, meaning that they were no longer classified as fully employable and deployable.
“You don’t need to be Einstein to understand why: women just can’t keep up with the men,” said Mr Gaynor.
Independent Senator Fraser Anning said: “Defence capability is really the crux of the issue. Pushing politically correct agendas for the sake of gender quotas is ridiculous and dangerous to our nation’s defence.”
The former One Nation Senator from Queensland was an army reservist and requested the information during Senate Estimates.
“The key is having the right person for the right job. If an individual can carry the weight, trek the distance or perform as any other member then there is no issue,” he said.
But he said it became a problem “when you make exceptions, reduce standards such as the Army Combat Fitness Assessment in which women are not required to carry packs during a pack march.”
“Gender norming of physical standards to advantage female recruits occurs at the expense of capability, and therefore must be opposed if our priority is defending Australia,” he said.