Military Review English Edition March-April 2016 | Page 73

BIASES

the same physically demanding activity, such as the
fifty-four-hour
intensive Marine
Corps “Crucible,”
expend energy
proportional to
their body size,
with energy costs
averaging 6,400
kilocalories per
day (kcal/d) for
men, compared
to 4,730 kcal/d
for women.6
Accommodating
these greater energy requirements is
(Photo by Sgt. Russell Klika, DVIDS)
Female soldiers conduct medical training with simulated casualties 12 May 2011 during an iteration of the
a logistics burden
Cultural Support Assessment and Selection program. The U.S. Army Special Operations Command's cultural
of questionable
support program prepares all-female soldier teams to serve as enablers supporting Army special operations
advantage—unless combat forces in and around secured objective areas.
large men also
serve as surrogate pack mules, carrying heavy loads
environments is likely associated with a progesterone
of food for the force’s increased consumption.
effect on chemoreceptor sensitivity and a more appropriate ventilatory response to hypoxia.11
Physiological Capabilities
It would be difficult, if not impossible, to find out if
Conceivably, in the all-women’s Army, men could
men, despite their physiological limitations, could sucperform as well as women in stressful and prolonged
ceed in demanding specialties such as Army Rangers
physical activities such as Ranger School if small doses of or Special Forces. Assumptions that men could not
female sex steroids were administered to increase endur- perform as well as women would justify the Army’s
ance. Experiments with healthy young men have demon- reluctance to open even training opportunities for men.
strated that it is possible to improve their endurance
Some readers may find it ridiculous to prevent men
metabolism with short-term estrogen administration.7 It from participating in special operations, or to assume
is well established that in women’s bodies, estrogen causthey could not match women’s endurance physiology.
es better lipid utilization for energy metabolism while
But, the women’s Army uses other kinds of physical
sparing muscle protein and glycogen.8 This enhances
tests than the absolute strength tests designed to favor
women’s ability to function in a high-stress environment
men (e.g., rope climbs, pull-ups, or 200-pound dumand sustain submaximal exercise performance substanmy drags). Men would have trouble competing with
tially longer than men.9 Women are better able than men women in tests of endurance and stress limits designed
to access lipids for energy in such conditions, and they
around the well-trained special operations woman.
appear better able to sustain small-unit leadership perWhat is not well known for men or women is just how
f