Women Marines - how is your attitude?

[MotherGoose]

Greetings to my sisters-in-arms! I often wonder if other female Marines go through some of the same situations or feelings as I do, or if it is just me and my redheaded temperament. And if so, how do you react? I can usually blow stuff off (and account the other party's actions to extremely limited intelligence) and then there are times when "snapping" or "becoming unglued" seems in accordance with proper SOP. I'm not too ashamed to say that I have become unglued at inappropriate times... but hey, what can I say???

For instance:

Scenario 1: You are at a veterans' function and people will come up and shake the hand of the male next to you and thank him for his service but they won't even look your way even though you have more time and grade than the puke you're standing beside. Really p*$$#$ me off but I have to remember that most folks are unbelievably backwards in their thinking.

Scenario 2: The infamous (and extremely insulting) lines of "yer too purdy to be a Marine" or "I'd have never thought you were a Marine." Nothing can make me snap more than that last line. My responses have included "Why? I don't seem squared away, intelligent, motivated and patriotic? Or do I have to be some beer guzzling swine to get some credibility."

Scenario 3: Some friggin hack on this site makes disparaging, passive aggressive remarks about female Marines because said hack has a burr in his p-hole over some encounter with a female Marine that made him angry. This really makes me mad too because we all get lumped together in the same category. It's the same as if I categorized all male Marines as liars, thieves, adulterers (come on you know a male Marine will stick his **** in anything that moves, or doesn't move, and they ALL will cheat when given the opportunity), murderers, rapists and gangbangers. Not all male Marines are exemplary. Not all female Marines are exemplary. In this case, when I read some anal comment on this site, I say nothing but it sticks in my craw and I lose a little respect for that poster. His posts have to be taken with a grain of salt from then on because his view is obviously warped.

Semper Fi Marines!

[Chumley]

I was good friends with a WM Sergeant who had a chip on her shoulder about these inequalities. She had been a DI and also helped me study knowledge which eventually helped me to win the board for Meritorious Corporal. Once night during field day ( she inspected the rooms of the WM's in our barracks ) a WM told her that she had her period and wanted to opt out of field day that night. I didn't realize until that moment how hard she had fought throughout the years for equality. She chewed that WM for a good 15 minutes and went on about it's because of weak b*tches like her that want to use their feminity to be treated different, and those same reasons came back to effect the treatment of women overall....ie. want to be different when it's convenient, then want to treated equally when it's promising, etc, etc, the whole double standard argument. Needless to say that WM not only ended up field daying that night, but I think she cleaned half the barracks after that too. That Sergeant was personally offended that women were automatically excluded from combat roles/MOSs. There is no test to see if that individual is capable to perform. She felt that if she was able, then why was she excluded.

I've personally lived by this rule: I don't care if the Marine next to me is male or female, or where they're from or whatever, as long as they would fight with me with everything that they had. Maybe I'm a little more modern in my thinking, and yes, I've heard most sides of it - stronger sex / weaker sex etc., but personally I don't care. One year when I was on the rifle range, a WM shot 249. I said, are you kidding me?? I would WANT her fighting on my side anyday, and she isn't allowed. WTFover?

Bottom line, there's males that aren't worth a sh1t who will be there, why not females that are fully capable and also willing? Males that say that females are a distraction are correct. Everything is a distraction, so focus on the task at hand, and less excuses.

Sorry MotherGoose, 'cause this battle will take decades to evolve in women's favor. It will eventually, but look how long it took to even get WM's on the range - early '80s - it'll take a few more decades for the mentality to change and evolve for this type of equality to be acceptable, and a few decades after that for the majority to be good with it and social recognition to be just.

One more thing, since I'm about to get bashed for my women's rights views, to defend the males, most females will sleep with anything too, just a little less obvious and frequent. We are all human; when the urge hits, something is getting mounted.

Incoming!!!

SFi
C

[MotherGoose]

Chumley,
Thank you for your response. I have also had my fair share of dealing with female Marines who wanted to be "special." I remember reporting for duty at a certain unit and I happened to be the 2nd female they had ever had. The first female Marine had arrived 8 months earlier and had done nothing but whine and complain, sleep around, fall out of pt, be a sick bay commando, threaten suicide.... you name it, she did it..... so when I showed up as a Corporal, they seemed to expect the same. Well they got the opposite. It was unbelievable. When I checked in, we had battalion pt the next day and it was a piece of cake. I had just came from a unit in Oki where pt was HARDCORE. I guess that was the first step in "proving" myself to these male Marines. They had never seen a female keep up with pt apparently. Ultimately, it turned out to be one of the best units I have served with.

Oh, and yes, lots of women today sleep around like crazy too. Even lower themselves to kissing and making out with other women because they think it will turn on their man. But the majority of families are ruined by a man's adulterous behavior.

[Quinbo]

My encounters with Woman Marines is extremely limited. I literally went years without ever encountering one. Almost a myth if you will. My final unit in Quantico had a hand full of women on board. I was the unit weight control NCO and my first real face to face talk with a female Marine went something like this....
Sgt Quinn what exactly do I have to do to get off weight control ( hint, hint ) .
I looked her dead in the eye and said lose some weight. She requested mast and I ended up explaining to a full bird that I had not implied any such inuendo of sexual favors being the way off the weight control program.

While coaching on the rifle range.... one of my shooters was a female captain. She made a poor shot and the first thing I asked her was did she feel she had applied all the basics and that the shot was good? She said yes so I told her to take another shot. She did and hit approx the same place so I gave her a dope change. Next shot was even worse. She threw a fit about how I probably couldn't hit a bull in the ass with a boat paddle and I had caused her to waste 3 rounds. I said maam I can can get you a whole can of ammo to shoot and keep you on the line as long as you like. I said I can not shoot your weapon for you on qual day so we need to get it right. She got even madder and started asking who my boss was. It was quite the professional experience. I was lucky in that encounter as I was on temp loan from the operations office and my boss was Capt. Feight the operations officer... you know the guy that signs score cards and such on the rifle range.

I never really developed a bad attitude toward women Marines but did have a few bad experiences. All Marines should be held to high standards. Before I go down in flames with Chumley let me say that most of my experiences with Marines in general was infantry Marines. The very very few Woman Marines I ever met were not thinking they were in a way representive of all Women Marines and might actually be the first one I ever met.

[sparkie]

There were no WMs around me in "69 to "73,,,,, And I had a joking attitude. We all did. For YEARS I didn't think about WMs or attitude, till I got old, and on this site, met up with Marine84, A lady of ordinance, serving what I served. Loving what I loved. Proud like I am proud. An 'Old Dog' can learn new. Sorry I was so stupid in my youth. I now know you are my sister,,,,,,,, I can't regret or forget. SF.

[yellowwing]

I worked with a Major and two Sgts, they were great. There was no doubt they were in charge and their people knew it and acted accordingly. On the social side though....

[Old Marine]

Do you have a sign next to your name tag that says "Three Years Time In Grade."

[montana]

was in exsactly 18 months...never even met or saw a WM....was more interested in keeping myself and my brothers alive to be thinking about WMs
thank you for your service mothergoose guess you can relate to use comeing home from nam with out even getting a kiss my azz from all back here in the world

be safe

[Zulu 36]

I had a number of varied contacts with WMs during my service. I saw a couple while I was in boot camp doing admin work somewhere on the depot, but not again until I went to Camp Lejuene after Vietnam. At that time they were all Remington Raiders. Generally, I had positive encounters with them (professionally).

After my second WestPac tour, I was at Pendleton and had even more contacts with WMs. Most WMs were very good at their jobs, but some did try to play the sex card.

I was friendly with a WM sergeant (who would be in the don't ask, don't tell category these days). She was tough as boot leather, homely to look at, and a real riot to party with at the club. She was quite willing to play matchmaker for the girls who preferred guys. Nice lady to know.

I did learn not to mess with the WMs as they were perfectly capable of laying a good beat down just like male Marines could. In 1974, while streaking was popular, some idiot decided to streak the WM barracks at Futenma, Okinawa. Unfortunately, he chose the non-rate side of the barracks to start. By the time he made it to the NCO side, the hue-and-cry was in full force and he never made it out. Those WM NCOs beat his sorry hide black and blue. He was really happy to see the MPs. I was at the PMO when they brought him in and he was in bad shape.

[SgtThrasher]

From boot camp @ Parris Island in 1965 through March1969 , I never met any Women Marines! I often wondered if their careers were any different than ours.

I remember a eight month period of 12 months in Vietnam where I didn't even see a woman (68-69).

When I reported in at MCRD@San Diego for Drill Instructor School I had my first encounter with a WM Corporal and uttered
my first word to a WM as she gave directions.She was real professional,courteous and the prettiest Marine I had seen.I respected her ,but most Marines from my era had no
contact with our sisters and that wasn't our fault, just the way your MOS played out.

I respect all Marines that do their jobs and are professional and I know how it feels to be slighted as a Vietnam Vet and I understand MotherGoose's feelings.

[Phantom Blooper]

Damn....outta 9 replies I haven't seen a WM step up to the plate yet....although the thread is interesting!

[Wyoming]

I have met and broke bread with many of my Sisters. The have all acted very professional and have my utmost respect.

Did I want to bed any of them? Of course. Did I? Nope.

I did not know any Sister Marines while I was in, and do not have any 1st hand experience while on active duty.

Are there any ****bird male ******* Marines? Yep!!

Be that as it may, there are more 1st Civ Div chippys at the VFW these days than you can shake a stick at. Just letting them know you are prior Marine and the doors open.

I respect the Ladies in the Marines AND appriciate their service.

[Pete0331]

My encounters with Woman Marines is extremely limited. I literally went years without ever encountering one. Almost a myth if you will. My final unit in Quantico had a hand full of women on board. I was the unit weight control NCO and my first real face to face talk with a female Marine went something like this....
Sgt Quinn what exactly do I have to do to get off weight control ( hint, hint ) .
I looked her dead in the eye and said lose some weight. She requested mast and I ended up explaining to a full bird that I had not implied any such inuendo of sexual favors being the way off the weight control program.

While coaching on the rifle range.... one of my shooters was a female captain. She made a poor shot and the first thing I asked her was did she feel she had applied all the basics and that the shot was good? She said yes so I told her to take another shot. She did and hit approx the same place so I gave her a dope change. Next shot was even worse. She threw a fit about how I probably couldn't hit a bull in the ass with a boat paddle and I had caused her to waste 3 rounds. I said maam I can can get you a whole can of ammo to shoot and keep you on the line as long as you like. I said I can not shoot your weapon for you on qual day so we need to get it right. She got even madder and started asking who my boss was. It was quite the professional experience. I was lucky in that encounter as I was on temp loan from the operations office and my boss was Capt. Feight the operations officer... you know the guy that signs score cards and such on the rifle range.

I never really developed a bad attitude toward women Marines but did have a few bad experiences. All Marines should be held to high standards. Before I go down in flames with Chumley let me say that most of my experiences with Marines in general was infantry Marines. The very very few Woman Marines I ever met were not thinking they were in a way representive of all Women Marines and might actually be the first one I ever met.

I have had similar experiences.

Yes, there probably are excelent WM's, but the ones that I have encountered ,in a professional compacity, have been more trouble then they were worth.

[Gary Hall]

Mother, if I'm intruding here, my apologies. It's been quiet in the Politic area lately and I was just seeing what was going on in the real world. I'm one of those with limited social skills so have learned to be careful. As you observe "... most folks are unbelievably backward ...", I'm in this category. Kinda sorry I stopped by , always have had the highest regard for the female gender. If you all can't fix things, they probably can't be fixed. In closing, from 47 to 52 I never saw a WR and we were intensely warned to stay away. I now see why. Please reconsider, we will not all cheat, whatever the circumstances. I could present you a long list of heroes and those of exemplary character, but the prevalence of ADD might limit the intended effort. (I quit drinking anything with alcohol 40 years ago.) As were you, my Drill Instructor was a SSGT, Douglas D. Gardner, 288139, who as a PFC on Wake Island on 24 December, 1941 with the 1st Defense Batallion, entered into some 44 months of Japanese captivity. MY point is that there is a tremendous difference in people, Japanese v. American Marines. I despise anything Japanese and if you want to castigate some worthies, I offer you the Japanese. Take on those who got it coming, as we red necks say, "... tote fair...". Kindest regards & Gung Ho, Gary Hall. (Check out SSGT Gardner, you can find out about him).

[outlaw3179]

Who cares...Thank God there are no females in the infantry. Then instead of dealing with , I dont know , how to win battles, wed have to deal with people feelings getting hurt. Your post proves the reason why women Marines are treated differently.