By Does anyone know if any units in USFK are doing this training yet?:
The Army is ordering its hardened combat veterans to wear fake breasts and empathy bellies so they can better understand how pregnant soldiers feel during physical training.
This week, 14 noncommissioned officers at Camp Zama took turns wearing the “pregnancy simulators” as they stretched, twisted and exercised during a three-day class that teaches them to serve as fitness instructors for pregnant soldiers and new mothers.
Army enlisted leaders all over the world are being ordered to take the Pregnancy Postpartum Physical Training Exercise Leaders Course, or PPPT, according to U.S. Army Medical Activity Japan health promotion educator Jana York.
Developed by the Army in 2008, the course includes aerobics classes, pool sessions and classroom studies on the physiology of pregnant women. The NCOs learn special exercises for pregnant women, who shouldn’t push themselves too hard or participate in high-impact activities such as snowboarding, bungee jumping or horse riding, York said. [Stars & Stripes]
I have to wonder about the common sense of anyone that didn’t know snowboarding, bungee jumping, and horse riding aren’t good for pregnant women?
7:37 am on February 17th, 2012 1
And this will teach them how to avoid IEDS exactly how?
8:42 am on February 17th, 2012 2
What in the Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo?
Perhaps it’s just the Good Idea Fairy at work again.
9:09 am on February 17th, 2012 3
“I have to wonder about the common sense of anyone that didn’t know snowboarding…(isn’t) good for pregnant women?”
And with the very heavily packed artificial snow on the slopes here in Korea? Feels like you hit a brick wall when you fall down…and don’t get me started about how people actually ride here (worse than they drive, in case you’re wondering).
11:17 am on February 17th, 2012 4
Friends, my comments are too extensive.
Security and armed forces going down the tubes on fast track but we still have time for sheer stupidity!! Social programs (elections) and PC still outrank other DOD/WHITE HOUSE security priorities. The foregoing S&S item is a perfect example of what addles defense decisions (by civilians and military dog robbers) in Washington, DC, today.
AT LEAST 13% (78,000) of the current Army IS NOT available for security/combat/deployment duty. It is female and we cannot use females in combat units committed to close with and destroy the enemy; and, make no mistake, wars are only won by closing with and destroying the enemy in the ultimate sense; otherwise there are Ceasefires, Armistices, Peacekeeping, International Security/Stabilization forces that fester without end as threats and consumers of national resources.
An equal number of male soldiers are on profiles which also make them unavailable. This released number (actual numbers are even higher) easily equals the 155,000 heroes being summarily fired by Obama.
In addition, about 25 of the force is unavailable at any time (this number includes the above mentioned personnel) is always unavailable for combat—travel, profiles, pregnancy, special needs, hospitalization, schooling, assignments having nothing to do with the Army (detailed to DOD for example).
The WHITE HOUSE (NOT THE SEC DEF—I admire this one more and more every day: straight talker) is disarming America.
But in the interest of trying to make lemonade out of lemons (or chicken soup out of. . . . .), consider ALL OF THE 155,000 soldiers being summarily and involuntarily fired and put on unemployment benefits (sic???) for the next two years—or longer, depending on Nov 2012 election—if one takes place—should be culled from the less than fully usable soldiers, including all the females. As a class, they are less than full assets for military agile contingency purposes.
This will never happen, of course, and perhaps it should not take place. Rather, we should be increasing the size of the Army, not cutting it. Any Govt social purposes (and there are as many of these as there are democrat members of Congress)—gambit of purposes include female, trans-gender, homosexual, uneducated, anti-religious, non-religious, special needs, at risk, hires to lessen stress on civilian labor markets, racial quotas, national origins, etc., etc., etc.—should be govt add-ons to the irreducible needs of the armed forces, and budgeted accordingly.
As it is, they are all albatrosses borne by the fighting few–sons and daughters–manning the ramparts, worldwide.
And it is now proposed that military members, their dependents, and retirees, willingly give up portions of their earned medical care in order to pay for these adventures in the twilight zone.
The US is reverting to the status quo ante, post WWII, post Korea, post VN, and post Desert Storm action plans under extremely different world and domestic circumstances.
Too much implied worth is devoted to supposedly “agile” and “special operation” forces.
Each of the aforementioned post war situations resolved into a wasteful and ultimately bloodier mobilization to battle a festering and ignored threat. But in the cases of those prior mobilizations we had the draft and a capability for administering it, to mobilize—and the TIME to do so.
NO ONE ever asserted that the All-voluntary (sic) force would mobilize by recruitment in order to go to war (which takes time and thousands of troops, and dollars). The All-voluntary forces was in fact SOLD on the basis of being all we needed, ready to go, able to fight one and a half wars concurrently anywhere in the world. Maybe—and that is a large maybe—it might have proven able to do so had the social planners left us alone.
Somehow IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN (and who knows where tomorrow or the day after since the WHITE HOUSE has ceded the initiative to any potential enemy) did not accommodate the promised military projections.
The All-voluntary forces have struggled to survive (note: no mention of winning) two wars in adjacent overseas areas for ten years, mainly because the Secretary of Defense, as war approached, also attributed magical transforming capabilities to “agile” (and later “special operations”) forces. In fact he fired the Army Chief of Staff who admonished him and the Congress and the public that it would take 800,000 men up to eight years to prevail in IRAQ.
The General was right. Had it not been for the National Guard and Reserves the All-voluntary (sic) force would have failed completely.
Under strength forces, with nothing to back them up, thrown into battle with fully committed enemies will die on the patterns on Bataan and Corregidor, North Korea, and Indochina, and IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN, “agility” and “special operations” notwithstanding. Consider:
• “You cannot win back at the conference table what you have already lost on the battlefield”- Gen W. B. Smith, Eisenhower’s Staff, and WWII. [Things have changed since WWII, so the truism must be modified to note that if you are North Koreans, Chinese Reds, al Qaeda, Iranians, Taliban, and the likes in which cases you can always wear down the USA and win).
• “As important as having strength is the understanding that you will use that strength,” Kennedy and Reagan Administrations.
• “America has never been drawn into war because she was too strong,” Reagan paraphrase.
Louis T Dechert
Louis T Dechert
President and Chairman, Combined KOREAN-US Veterans Association, CKVA [SUCCESSFUL SOLE
VETERANS ORGANIZATION SUPPORTING KOREA-US FTA, 2008-2011]
Chairman, Louisiana Veterans Coalition, 2011-2012
National President and Chairman of the Board, KWVA/USA, 2004-2008
Founder and Co-Chairman, US Federation of Korea Veterans Organizations, USFKVO [SUCCESSFUL SOLE VETERANS
SPONSOR OF MEDAL OF HONOR RESOLUTION FOR FATHER EMIL KAPAUN, CHAPLAIN, 8TH CAVALRY REGIMENT, DIED IN CAPTIVITY, KOREA, 1951]
Chairman, US-Korea Allies Council, UKAC, 2005-2011
12:23 pm on February 17th, 2012 5
Yet another reason that I have never supported and never will women in the military, other than the old WWII auxiliary positions. women have become the most narcississtic group on earth, willing to sacrifice their own children for themselves. We’ve become the abominable sex that allowed itself to be easily led by femmies…pathetic — WARCHick
1:59 pm on February 17th, 2012 6
Ah, the #1 “special interest group” in the military, is now attempting to get the males to “understand” their “special needs”.
Yet they fail to understand how this causes them to be LESS equal and more frowned upon.
Bottom line is that (in American culture) females are not Soldiers. They are women with “special” needs. Far from equal to males.
We as a nation, deserve to lose in the following wars. We are weak. The rest of the world knows it.
I feel complete sadness for the current military.
2:03 pm on February 17th, 2012 7
We have perverted the purpose of the military into a massive, ongoing failed social experiment, thus fast on our way to rendering it impotent. It isn’t just America where women aren’t soldiers; God never meant for His daughters to fight in wars…it was meant to be the work of His sons, whom He designed physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to be equipped to handle this and suceed at it. When we force those who aren’t designed that way to do it, we end up destroying the military and succombing to the slavery of evil nations and leaders. It is the pattern of history, and we are not above the laws of math — WARCHiCK
3:20 pm on February 17th, 2012 8
http://www.empathybelly.org/home.html
Wow, what a deal. I bet the Army has already orderd 1000 to distribute to ACS and all the Training Support Centers.
It will go on the shelf right next to the “buttocks moulage” kit.
5:51 pm on February 17th, 2012 9
Sweet. Suffering, Jesus.
What next? White troops smear brown shoe polish on their faces so they can empathize with…well, you get the idea.
6:50 pm on February 17th, 2012 10
Help! I’ve fallen and can’t get up, over.:razz:
7:10 pm on February 17th, 2012 11
An obvious conclusion is drawn
that sense in equality’s gone.
The next step’s easy to see
in the evolution of empathy.
They must issue women some lube and a strap-on.
7:20 pm on February 17th, 2012 12
The vid made “The Factor”. Bill was amused and confused.
10:09 pm on February 17th, 2012 13
Oh my goodness…………….
3:18 am on February 18th, 2012 14
“Bill was amused and confused.”
Well, that really means nothing…he’s always confused.
9:11 am on February 18th, 2012 15
Someone please tell me I’m asleep and having a horrible nightmare and what I just read isn’t real…
4:26 am on February 19th, 2012 16
Thank God,I’m retired.
4:57 am on February 19th, 2012 17
I have never seen ANY pregnant soldier do more than lie on the ground for PT. If thats what these people are doing, what is the point?
Great “leadership” in action
5:43 am on February 19th, 2012 18
According to the Army procurement website, they just placed an order for “Empathy Buttplugs” to better understand the plight of gay soldiers doing PT after a heavy night of behindgrindin’.
8:09 am on February 19th, 2012 19
CH, after hearing of THIS, hearing of the “Empathy Buttplugs” would not be a surprize.
We are going to look back on this period, the same as the Hippies of the 60s now look back from their corner offices and wonder just what the hell were we thinking.
As Lemmy said, I never saw a female (pregnant or otherwise) do much in the way of PT.
I did however see most of them cling to the highest ranking male they could find — married or not.