First woman to join the infantry quits after just two weeks
THE first British servicewoman allowed to train as a frontline infantry fighter has dropped out after just two weeks.
She is understood to have quit after falling behind 44 male recruits on endurance marches and physical tests during an 18-week training course.
Her groundbreaking posting to the RAF Regiment came after a ban on women serving in frontline combat units was lifted last year. The woman, who has not been named by the Ministry of Defence, reportedly admitted that she had underestimated the punishing physical demands of the role.
Her resignation is a blow to defence officials after the RAF became the first of the Armed Forces to open all of its posts to women. The Army and the Navy are due to follow suit later this year.
The woman is understood to have been working as a steward in the RAF – meaning she was likely to have been working as an air steward, waitress or bar worker – when she asked to transfer into the RAF Regiment.
The regiment is the Royal Air Force’s specialist infantry unit, and is tasked with protecting air bases and supporting Special Forces operations.
Women have flown jets in RAF combat units since the 1990s, and the Army’s Royal Tank Regiment commissioned its first female officer last year. But the RAF Regiment was the first infantry unit to announce it would accept female recruits. Announcing the move in July last year, then Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said it was ‘a defining moment for the RAF’.
The woman was one of only three who have applied to join the regiment since the policy change. Of those, she was the only one considered fit enough to start the 18-week training course at RAF Honington in Suffolk.
But just weeks into the course she reportedly told officers that living in women-only accommodation away from the 44 male recruits made her feel ‘like an outsider’ and weakened her resolve to continue.
MoD policy states that men and women may share accommodation when deployed on operations, but that normal barracks should be male or female only.
A source at the base told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Even though she was way off the pace of most of the men, she gained a lot of people’s respect. She tried her best and was honest enough to admit the course was too tough for her. She was a bit isolated outside training hours, because she lived apart from everyone else.
‘There was a lot of secrecy surrounding her participation. The guys were surprised to see her. There was pressure on her instructors to help her pass the course. I think the RAF wanted good PR out of it.’
It is not known if the woman has returned to her role as a steward. But her resignation will fuel debate about the Government’s decision to change hundreds of years of British military tradition and inte- grate women into close combat roles in the Armed Forces.
In 2016, then Prime Minister David Cameron caused controversy when he lifted the ban on women serving in infantry units, saying it was essential the Armed Forces reflected British society.
One former commander accused the Government of valuing gender equality over soldiers’ lives. Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded British forces in Afghanistan, said at the time: ‘The price for this social engineering experiment will be paid in blood.’ However, other senior officers said the nature of modern conflicts meant many women had already found themselves in combat situations.
The RAF Regiment operates different fitness standards for male and female recruits. Men must be able to perform 35 sit-ups in a minute and 20 press-ups. For women it is lowered to 32 sit-ups and ten press-ups. Gunners undergo an annual fitness assessment which includes a 6.2-mile (10km) march carrying their military backpack, rifle, body armour and helmet. They have to be able to carry a 44lb (20kg) jerry can for 55 yards (50 metres) without stopping, and to drag an 11 stone (71kg) mannequin over the same distance to simulate evacuating a casualty.
The RAF said: ‘All trainees must pass the physical tests and training required to ensure our operational capability is maintained.
‘We remain committed to providing equal opportunities across all available branches and trades.’
‘She admitted it was too tough for her’