When I interviewed severalįemale Marines who participated in the experiment, I found an interesting pattern. Pages did not mention statistics about unit cohesion. Public last summer bluntly concluded that all-male units outperformed integrated units in combat tasks, particularly hiking while carrying heavy loads and manning certain heavier weapons. A four-page, unsigned summary of the experiment made Women into ground combat jobs to see if attitudes had changed. Carter announced that women would be allowed into all military occupations, I looked to the Marine Corps’ yearlong experiment to integrate So this fall, before Secretary of Defense Ashton B. But with a purpose: she was trying to prepare us to interact with men who wouldn’t always be supportive of our Said, “you’re either a bitch, a dyke, or a ho.” Shocking? Perhaps. “If you’re a woman in the Marine Corps,” she Credit Courtesy Teresa Fazioįourteen years ago, when I was a midshipman at Marine Corps Officer Candidates School, our female sergeant instructor lined us up at attention. Sergeant Danielle Beck, right, checks the mounting of a weapons system during the Ground Combat Element Integrated Task Force in Twentynine Palms, CA. She scoffed off any compliments by saying it was only because they “couldn’tĬheat” the way someone with a less severe amputation on the other side might. A devastating injury, but Darcy really had a flair for it. With double AK’s (missing legs above the knee). Missing one leg below the knee - all in spite of the fact that losing a limb is never a minor injury.Īfter several years in the amputee section, it was not unusual for my colleagues and me to request a favorite type of injury when we were asked to pick up a new patient. Or jokingly, “paper cut” if a soldier was “only” Referring to a soldier as a “hip” if he happened to missing a leg at the groin. Our patients did the same thing to each other. Chris was an AK/BK (above knee and below knee amputee) who comes to PT in the morning and was really particular about time management (i.e., demanded toīe seen at 0645 (6:45 a.m.) even though we didn’t start patient care until 0700. Charlie was a triple (missing three limbs) withĪ nonregulation beard that needed to come off STAT. Rob from Arkansas was a double AK (missing both legs above the knee) with orange running shoes. Our patients by their injuries when discussing our caseload. In my mind, their faces blurred softly and their injuries faded into the ever-present background of yellow hospital gowns, wheelchairs, and parallelĪt Walter Reed, where most of our patients were combat-injured active duty soldiers and marines - young men in their 20s with crew cuts - the therapists had gotten into the habit of identifying Our old clinic, surrounded by young men on treatment tables. That I remembered his face, but not the fact that he was missing both arms and a leg at the groin, caughtįinding myself surprised by the extent of this young man’s injuries - injuries that were routine for so many years - well, a light flickered in my brain. In the mix was a former patient I recognized immediately, though I did not remember his injuries. There was a big cast there, all past employees (physical and occupational therapists) from the amputee section of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Last week I was at the wedding of an old co-worker. A thin slice of blue sky off the horizon was the only thing that kept me from losing all orientation.Īdele Levine at the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., in May 2013. Because the sky was the same hue as the snow, it was difficult to see anything more than white - and beyond it, the outline
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Plus the normal hat / gloves / balaclava, and still overheated at times. It was a four-lap course, and if I closed my eyes it was almost as if I was running in Michigan during a long winter in my high school days. Running in Antarctica was actually a lot easier than I thought. Here are some of his thoughts about his experience: and is a member of the official Marine Corps running team. Only 15 athletes took part those who finished ran 183.4 miles through snow, mountains, tropical heat and city streets.Ĭaptain Ramm, from Lansing, Mich., is running to raise money for a charity, the Semper Fi Fund. 23, he went on to complete marathons in Chile, Miami, Madrid, Morocco and Dubai before the finale in Sydney, Australia, on Friday.
Credit Callum RammĬalum Ramm, a captain in the Marine Corps, has run many marathons in his day, but last week he set out on a far bigger challenge: running seven marathons on seven continents in just seven days as part of the World Marathon Challenge. The tents in the back were the team’s lodging.
Calum Ramm at the Antarctica Logistics and Expedition base camp on Union Glacier.
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