I'm in my seventies and I do 10 push ups and 5 pull ups as well as twenty five sit ups very morning. Any of you guys out there want to go on a mountain hike with me. I can tell you most guys twenty five years younger can't keep up. The trick is to never stop pushing yourself.
2 mins is a long time. You can do two series of push ups and pull ups in that period, with a brief rest in-between. So you are basically doing 20+14 push ups, which is manageable even for out-of-shape men.
Thank you for your article. I am the mother of a Marine who entered the Corp in 1999. I remember then, and Alex was in shape, how the physical was tough. I wouldn’t wanna do it. And then the whole thing went to hell. I’m so thrilled that they’re going to bring back some standards in, not just military fitness, but in many other areas in American culture and life. By the way, I am now a 67 year-old grandmother and I won the plank contest at my Pilates studio with an eight minute plank. My final competitor, who finally dropped out, came up afterwards and told me (in the interest of full disclosure) that she was a fitness instructor. She was also about 30 years younger than I was. It only made my win that much sweeter. Nice to hear that you’re still keeping physical fit, too. Pretty impressive.
And I'm willing to bet you worked hard all of your life. We are of a different generation that was always outside doing something. You can't get in shape with your eyes locked on a device. Most of my grandkids make me feel like crying when I see them curled up in their rooms looking at those evil little boxes.
Yes, well aren't men and women made differently? Okay, so what could he do? Lower the men's requirements and raise the women's? Or vice versa? Realistically, women do not have the upper body strength of men. WWII had WAACs, WAVEs and other female enlisted who were in support positions. Women who want to fight seem to be a smaller majority. If they want to go into combat, let them meet the same strength requirements needed to do same. Can they carry a fellow soldier out of a combat area? That's the question. There are too many things women can't do as far as strength. We are not equal, sorry women's libbers, but we're not and I don't want to be.
Oh and one other thing. Our new National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, voted to have women conscripted for the military just like men. Remember too that his wife, Julia Nesheiwat, is a member of the CFR, WEF and the globalist Atlantic Council...and the Atlantic Magazine prints the same globalist garbage the Council promotes.
This has been a long time in the making. The unremitting pressure for gender "equality" at first created a double standard that eventually became today's low standard. Unsurprisingly, not a single USN or USMC flag officer—the politically annointed, or smeared, senior officers—resigned over this blatantly obvious issue. In the early 2000's it was clear women could not complete the summer Bulldog standards of full gear & 12 miles, so the gunnies literally dragged the gals across the finish line. It is gratifying to know that our marines obey orders; it is dismaying that in doing so they no longer remained "Semper Fi."
I stop my diatribe at this point, the issue having too many disquieting implications.
It seems that perhaps a few (very few) women could do a 12 mile hike with full gear if they worked up to it for 6-12 months before applying to the Corp. But there may be a time limit on completing that run.
I say, "No women for Marine combat." It doesn't help anyone. I imagine the Marines need desk workers and choral singers, though, and I'm not being sarcastic.
I was a marine corps grunt in vietnam for nineteen months. I can assure you that there's no way that women in the ranks would have been able to keep up. It was an absolute miserable experience out in the bush sometimes out for weeks at a time with no opportunity to shower and never enough water to drink.
Well, I wouldn't have needed shower were I in 'Nam but I would have needed enough water. Plus, I would not have ever been able to keep up with guys. Just sayin' about the shower...
I concur with everything you said, John, except that it is fantastically ridiculous to think that enemy troops would shoot a woman squatting to pee. Of course they would. Our troops would do the same in a like situation. War is an ugly, vicious business.
It is sad to see. To show how much it has changed, when I was a young and tender Marine OCS Officer Candidate (1985), I was told quality mattered. I was told in no uncertain terms to qualify physically I had to be able to meet the following requirements:
20 Pull-ups
80 Sit-ups in as I recall, 2 minutes
3 mile run in no less than 20 minutes (18 minutes being a perfect score for this event).
Today's standards for an Officer Candidate:
Male:
Event Times/Repetitions
Push-up/Pull-up Hybrid Test 8 pull-ups or 62 push-ups
Crunches/Plank 70 crunches in 2 minutes or a plank longer than 1:03 seconds
3 mile run 24 minutes
Female:
Event Times/Repetitions
Push-up/Pull-up Hybrid Test
17-20 year old 1 pull-up or 34 push-ups
21-25 year old 3 pull-ups or 34 push-ups
26-30 year old 4 pull-ups or 34 push-ups
31/+ year old 3 pull-ups or 34 push-ups
Crunches 70 crunches in 2 minutes or a plank longer than 1:03 seconds
3 mile run 27 minutes
These young Marines are being placed in harms way, they need quality standards to ensure they get the job done and are able to go home.
I am a retired Professional Fire Fighter...and laughed when I saw the standards for the Marines. I think the hardened combat veterans that won WW2 would have laughed also. Winning in a hand to hand combat struggle will frequently come down to brute strength and hard muscle, with superior cardio and brutal skills. These current standards are a woke joke. Girls are not fit for close quarters combat, and are a distraction to men on their side who are capable...they are continually having to worry about the girl...quite frankly, it is normal...unless of course they are WOKE. Appreciate the article...again. Thank you.
I recommend SHADE IT BLACK by Jane Goodall, 2011. As a Marine veteran she stated in answer to the question: "What would you say to an 18 year old daughter who told you she was joining the Marines?" "I'd say. No your not."
Wow!!! The requirements are so unbelievably LOW that it is beyond a joke! No wonder other countries think they can waltz into the US and do whatever they want. Who actually reduced the requirements? Maybe those were Kamala's and Biden's fitness results.....
All good points...and that real men are reluctant to shoot women, especially while squatting; makes sense. These issues have likely been considered and discussed by anyone serving in the military, men and women. I like the sex neutral physical requirements for the Marine Corps. It stands up to reason, and has zero to do with discrimination, that when it comes to physical prowess, men are generally advantaged; yet, even that obvious generality has exceptions. We all know some tall, strong women who can overpower some men; or at least put up one hell of a fight. However, they are outliers and relatively rare exceptions. So, to qualify the outliers who prefer combat, it is fair to allow the sex- neutral requirements. We know that those exceptional women with the qualifications who meet merit based requirements, with the fortitude to commit to battle, the willingness to engage in the true valor of combat, they then must be accepted as fit for battle and be given the opportunity to serve the nation in such a manner.
Neither Russian soldiers nor German soldiers at the end of WWII would have hesitated to kill a woman while she was squatting. Doesn't marching and being under fire greatly decrease the need to go #1?
I don’t know what to think honestly. I think set a standard meet it and if not you’re disqualified. If I had to pee while in combat I doubt I would worry about urinating in my uniform- certainly wouldn’t take time to drop pants! I would hope men would not worry either- but that really would be the least of my worries! As far as the test goes I could have passed the test back in the day- the fitness test is low for both men and women. But I believe there should be standard that is the same for all.
The physical standards must be returned to what we were required to meet in 1975 when I joined up. As for men shooting women in combat, John speaks from a position of ignorance, I'm sorry to say, unless he means April fools. My former partner spent 18 months with the Marines in Vietnam and he reports: the NVA was quite content to shoot a woman squatting to pee, even if she was holding a baby.
I am tempted to ask if this post was a long set-up to a pun, Mr. Leak(e). It is...April 1st.
Ha ha! Excellent!
I don't think it's an April Fools joke, except do we really think John Leake can do that many pull ups and push ups in 2 minutues? Uhh,no...
I said "at least." Happy to post a video! Regards, John Leake
Post it, John.
I'm in my seventies and I do 10 push ups and 5 pull ups as well as twenty five sit ups very morning. Any of you guys out there want to go on a mountain hike with me. I can tell you most guys twenty five years younger can't keep up. The trick is to never stop pushing yourself.
These are very young people we are talking about their fitness is zero.
2 mins is a long time. You can do two series of push ups and pull ups in that period, with a brief rest in-between. So you are basically doing 20+14 push ups, which is manageable even for out-of-shape men.
See website for USMC fitness requirements:
https://www.marines.com/become-a-marine/requirements/physical-fitness.html
PULL UPS / PUSH UPS
Male: 3 pull-ups or 34 push-ups (2:00 time limit)
Female: 1 pull-up or 15 push-ups (2:00 time limit)
RUN
Male: 1.5 mile run in 13:30
Female: 1.5 mile run in 15:00
PLANK
40 second plank (1:03 minimum)
3 pullups? 1.5 miles - 6 laps 13.5 minutes - Tragic!! Pitiful USMC!
above is the "initial" requirements to begin USMC recruit training
Thank you for your article. I am the mother of a Marine who entered the Corp in 1999. I remember then, and Alex was in shape, how the physical was tough. I wouldn’t wanna do it. And then the whole thing went to hell. I’m so thrilled that they’re going to bring back some standards in, not just military fitness, but in many other areas in American culture and life. By the way, I am now a 67 year-old grandmother and I won the plank contest at my Pilates studio with an eight minute plank. My final competitor, who finally dropped out, came up afterwards and told me (in the interest of full disclosure) that she was a fitness instructor. She was also about 30 years younger than I was. It only made my win that much sweeter. Nice to hear that you’re still keeping physical fit, too. Pretty impressive.
And I'm willing to bet you worked hard all of your life. We are of a different generation that was always outside doing something. You can't get in shape with your eyes locked on a device. Most of my grandkids make me feel like crying when I see them curled up in their rooms looking at those evil little boxes.
Congratulations, Suzi!!!
Thank you, Rosa. I am such a bragster.
Be proud, Sizi. You deserve to be proud of yourself!
Yes, well aren't men and women made differently? Okay, so what could he do? Lower the men's requirements and raise the women's? Or vice versa? Realistically, women do not have the upper body strength of men. WWII had WAACs, WAVEs and other female enlisted who were in support positions. Women who want to fight seem to be a smaller majority. If they want to go into combat, let them meet the same strength requirements needed to do same. Can they carry a fellow soldier out of a combat area? That's the question. There are too many things women can't do as far as strength. We are not equal, sorry women's libbers, but we're not and I don't want to be.
Oh and one other thing. Our new National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, voted to have women conscripted for the military just like men. Remember too that his wife, Julia Nesheiwat, is a member of the CFR, WEF and the globalist Atlantic Council...and the Atlantic Magazine prints the same globalist garbage the Council promotes.
This has been a long time in the making. The unremitting pressure for gender "equality" at first created a double standard that eventually became today's low standard. Unsurprisingly, not a single USN or USMC flag officer—the politically annointed, or smeared, senior officers—resigned over this blatantly obvious issue. In the early 2000's it was clear women could not complete the summer Bulldog standards of full gear & 12 miles, so the gunnies literally dragged the gals across the finish line. It is gratifying to know that our marines obey orders; it is dismaying that in doing so they no longer remained "Semper Fi."
I stop my diatribe at this point, the issue having too many disquieting implications.
It seems that perhaps a few (very few) women could do a 12 mile hike with full gear if they worked up to it for 6-12 months before applying to the Corp. But there may be a time limit on completing that run.
I say, "No women for Marine combat." It doesn't help anyone. I imagine the Marines need desk workers and choral singers, though, and I'm not being sarcastic.
I was a marine corps grunt in vietnam for nineteen months. I can assure you that there's no way that women in the ranks would have been able to keep up. It was an absolute miserable experience out in the bush sometimes out for weeks at a time with no opportunity to shower and never enough water to drink.
Well, I wouldn't have needed shower were I in 'Nam but I would have needed enough water. Plus, I would not have ever been able to keep up with guys. Just sayin' about the shower...
I concur with everything you said, John, except that it is fantastically ridiculous to think that enemy troops would shoot a woman squatting to pee. Of course they would. Our troops would do the same in a like situation. War is an ugly, vicious business.
- Daughter of a career army officer.
Godspeed SECDEF!
The lessons of warfare are written in blood. Press on!
Hegseth is on track to be one of the great SECDEFs!
It is sad to see. To show how much it has changed, when I was a young and tender Marine OCS Officer Candidate (1985), I was told quality mattered. I was told in no uncertain terms to qualify physically I had to be able to meet the following requirements:
20 Pull-ups
80 Sit-ups in as I recall, 2 minutes
3 mile run in no less than 20 minutes (18 minutes being a perfect score for this event).
Today's standards for an Officer Candidate:
Male:
Event Times/Repetitions
Push-up/Pull-up Hybrid Test 8 pull-ups or 62 push-ups
Crunches/Plank 70 crunches in 2 minutes or a plank longer than 1:03 seconds
3 mile run 24 minutes
Female:
Event Times/Repetitions
Push-up/Pull-up Hybrid Test
17-20 year old 1 pull-up or 34 push-ups
21-25 year old 3 pull-ups or 34 push-ups
26-30 year old 4 pull-ups or 34 push-ups
31/+ year old 3 pull-ups or 34 push-ups
Crunches 70 crunches in 2 minutes or a plank longer than 1:03 seconds
3 mile run 27 minutes
These young Marines are being placed in harms way, they need quality standards to ensure they get the job done and are able to go home.
I am a retired Professional Fire Fighter...and laughed when I saw the standards for the Marines. I think the hardened combat veterans that won WW2 would have laughed also. Winning in a hand to hand combat struggle will frequently come down to brute strength and hard muscle, with superior cardio and brutal skills. These current standards are a woke joke. Girls are not fit for close quarters combat, and are a distraction to men on their side who are capable...they are continually having to worry about the girl...quite frankly, it is normal...unless of course they are WOKE. Appreciate the article...again. Thank you.
Memoirs of a famous Russian WW 2 female sniper. Her own officers raped her.
And G— forbid they are captured by the enemy.
Unfortunately, in certain situations that is a high risk.
Reading your last few sentences makes having women in combat a totally assinine concept. That's the epitome of leftist absurdity!
I recommend SHADE IT BLACK by Jane Goodall, 2011. As a Marine veteran she stated in answer to the question: "What would you say to an 18 year old daughter who told you she was joining the Marines?" "I'd say. No your not."
Wow!!! The requirements are so unbelievably LOW that it is beyond a joke! No wonder other countries think they can waltz into the US and do whatever they want. Who actually reduced the requirements? Maybe those were Kamala's and Biden's fitness results.....
All good points...and that real men are reluctant to shoot women, especially while squatting; makes sense. These issues have likely been considered and discussed by anyone serving in the military, men and women. I like the sex neutral physical requirements for the Marine Corps. It stands up to reason, and has zero to do with discrimination, that when it comes to physical prowess, men are generally advantaged; yet, even that obvious generality has exceptions. We all know some tall, strong women who can overpower some men; or at least put up one hell of a fight. However, they are outliers and relatively rare exceptions. So, to qualify the outliers who prefer combat, it is fair to allow the sex- neutral requirements. We know that those exceptional women with the qualifications who meet merit based requirements, with the fortitude to commit to battle, the willingness to engage in the true valor of combat, they then must be accepted as fit for battle and be given the opportunity to serve the nation in such a manner.
Neither Russian soldiers nor German soldiers at the end of WWII would have hesitated to kill a woman while she was squatting. Doesn't marching and being under fire greatly decrease the need to go #1?
I don’t know what to think honestly. I think set a standard meet it and if not you’re disqualified. If I had to pee while in combat I doubt I would worry about urinating in my uniform- certainly wouldn’t take time to drop pants! I would hope men would not worry either- but that really would be the least of my worries! As far as the test goes I could have passed the test back in the day- the fitness test is low for both men and women. But I believe there should be standard that is the same for all.
The physical standards must be returned to what we were required to meet in 1975 when I joined up. As for men shooting women in combat, John speaks from a position of ignorance, I'm sorry to say, unless he means April fools. My former partner spent 18 months with the Marines in Vietnam and he reports: the NVA was quite content to shoot a woman squatting to pee, even if she was holding a baby.