re: Active Marines - Have Women in the Infantry Had a Negative Impact on the USMC?

Obviously, it has nothing to do with the individual's character, motivation, patriotism, etc., but certainly not every man (hell, in 2024, a helluva lot of men would fall into this category as well) is suited for front line infantry service. (Virtually) No woman is.

Let's take that 1% of 1% elite woman athlete: I won't question her motivations to go into the service as opposed to using her gifts to make major bank. Certainly there are high-performing females who are exceptional physical specimens. Even this rarefied company will experience greater breakdowns over time - stress fractures, UTIs, hell, women have higher rates of mental illness and service will only exacerbate those symptoms.

Why? Primarily biology. Regardless of the "modern" sensibilities about this being some sort of social construct, on the contrary, it is biological reality. Men (even at the same scale weight and relative rates of fitness) have heavier/denser bones and heavier/denser muscles. Men have greater aerobic capacity.

Women's capabilities are impressive because 25% of their metabolism is devoted to reproduction, while in men it is less than 3%. But, what that means is that women sacrifice the ability to sustain heavy work effort over time without suffering those breakdowns (and, obviously, unique aspects of the anatomy of women.)

Plus a man cannot get pregnant while preparing for a deployment or in a combat zone.

A combat unit gains NOTHING by admitting women, but risks all the things outlined above. In certain very narrow survival situations (i.e. Soviet Union 1941), I can see that having women serve in combat can be an resource, but one of last resort, IMHO.