US Army's First Female Infantry Officer Says New And Easier Gender-Neutral Fitness Tests Put Lives Of Soldiers In Danger On The Battlefield

Capt Kristen Griest, 32, has pushed against the Army's plan to consider the test scores of men and women separately after the branch received complaints about a gender gap  

Daily Mail: 'It places them at risk': Army's first female infantry officer, 32, says new and easier gender-neutral fitness tests put lives of soldiers in danger on battlefield 

* Capt Kristen Griest, 32, pushed against Army's plan to consider test scores of men and women separately after branch received complaints about gender gap 

* 'To not require women to meet equal standards in combat arms... will place those women, their teammates, and the mission at risk,' Griest said 

 * Griest, who in 2016 became the Army's first infantry officer added: 'I'm here saying, "Women can do more than we think"' 

A woman who became the U.S. Army's first female infantry officer has hit out against the watering down of physical-fitness standards for women, saying that all soldiers should meet the same requirements. 

If women are judged on a sliding scale, she warned, then some members of a unit won't be fully prepared - and could put soldiers at risk, including women. 

 'With equal opportunity comes responsibility,' she wrote in a recent opinion piece, which stirred up debate. 

Read more ....  

Update #1: An Army trailblazer set her sights on a new target. The reaction highlights a deep rift. (Washington Post)  

Update #2: Army’s first female infantry officer blasts lower standards for women (NYPost)  

WNU Editor: Capt Kristen Griest has been openly expressing her concerns on this issue since the beginning of the year .... Pioneering Female Ranger School Grad: Lowering Fitness Standards for Women Is a Bad Idea (Military.com). More here .... A trailblazing female Ranger grad has reignited the debate over the Army’s controversial new fitness test (Task & Purpose). 

Her op-ed in the Modern War Institute is here .... With Equal Opportunity Comes Equal Responsibility: Lowering Fitness Standards to Accommodate Women Will Hurt the Army—and Women (Kristen M. Griest).

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