The Marine Corps has elected to delay a requirement that females complete three pull-ups when it was discovered that over half of female recruits were unable to do so. Only one percent of male recruits failed the pull-up test.
The requirements for male and female Marine recruits were supposed to be the same starting on January 1, 2014. Now, female recruits will be required to hold their chin above a pull-up bar for 15 seconds in lieu of pull-ups.
From the Washington Examiner:
But 55 percent of female recruits could not complete all three pullups, compared to just 1 percent of male recruits who could not, so the requirement was delayed. The Marine Corps made the announcement without fanfare on Twitter and its TV show, the Corps Report. Currently, female Marines only have to hold their chin above a pull-up bar for 15 seconds.
I think that this is ridiculous. The Presidential Fitness Award is given to school-age girls who can do two pull-ups, yet the U.S. Marines require their female recruits to do zero. The standards should not be lowered for female marines seeking to enter combat. The safety of soldiers and Marines is far too important to bow to political correctness.