In the “Will it never end?” category of navel gazing that passes for deep thought today, the Army, Navy and Marines are dropping “man” from the job or M.O.S. titles. You know the ones, midshipman, infantryman, fireman, crewman, or seaman.

Apparently, this is called gender marking and it makes girls feel like they can’t do a job. Think of the NFL. If a little girl hears the words “Defensive Lineman”, she thinks, “that job calls for a man, I cannot do that job. However, if a little girl hears the words “Defensive Lineperson” or “Defensive Liner”, same said little girl thinks, “I can do that job”. Change the language and the girl feels better

Last month, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter decreed that all military position would be open to women. According to Department of Defense News:

Women will be fully integrated into combat roles deliberately and methodically, the secretary said, using seven guidelines.

Seven Guidelines

1. Implementation will be pursued with the objective of improved force effectiveness.

2. Leaders must assign tasks and jobs throughout the force based on ability, not gender.

3. Equal opportunity likely will not mean equal participation by men and women in all specialties, and there will be no quotas.

4. Studies conducted by the services and Socom indicate that on average there are physical and other differences between men and women, and implementation will take this into account.

5. The department will address the fact that some surveys suggest that some service members, men and women, will perceive that integration could damage combat effectiveness.

6. Particularly in the specialties that are newly open to women, survey data and the judgment of service leaders indicate that the performance of small teams is important.

7. The United States and some of its closest friends and allies are committed to having militaries that include men and women, but not all nations share this perspective.

Yea, I know a couple of those make you go-

So, now that all the jobs are open to women, all of the titles must change, too.

For what it’s worth, here are my two cents: If your little feelings get hurt because of a job title, you cannot do the job. The military is about death and destruction. The average soldier carries about one hundred pounds in ammo, gear, rations and water. If you cannot carry the weight, you cannot do the job. You will endanger other soldiers. I am sick and tired of the military being used for social experimentation.

Women are different from men. Vive la difference! Read this article from NBC written by a female Marine officer. Here she describes her body’s breakdown under real life combat conditions, not studies:

By the fifth month into the deployment, I had muscle atrophy in my thighs that was causing me to constantly trip and my legs to buckle with the slightest grade change,” she wrote. “My agility during firefights and mobility on and off vehicles and perimeter walls was seriously hindering my response time and overall capability. It was evident that stress and muscular deterioration was affecting everyone regardless of gender; however, the rate of my deterioration was noticeably faster than that of male Marines and further compounded by gender-specific medical conditions.

And, good on the Air Force for at least saying no thanks to the job title changes…for now.