Women get chance to ’one-up’ the men in mixed infantry units
FORT BENNING, Georgia — The young Army infantry recruits lined up in full combat gear, guns at the ready. At the signal, a soldier in front kicked in the door and they burst into the room, swiveling to check around the walls for threats.
“You’re dead!” one would-be enemy yelled out from a dark corner, the voice slightly higher than the others echoing through the building.
It was 18-year-old Kirsten, training to become one of the Army’s first women serving as infantry soldiers.
“I want to be one of the females to prove to everybody else that just because you’re a female, doesn’t mean you can’t do the same things as a male,” she said, describing her brother — an infantry soldier — as motivation. “I also wanted to one-up him.”
Kirsten is among more than 80 women who have gone to recruit training gave up a Division I soccer scholarship to become an infantry soldier. In body armor, helmet and rucksack, she looks like just any other grunt.
A bunkmate, Gabriella, says the women push each other.
“Today during our ruck march we were, like, directly across from each other and I would constantly look over at Benning had to make $35 million in renovations, including female dorm rooms, security cameras, and monitoring stations.
Laundry was an early challenge.
For years, the men washed clothes any time at night. Now, there are alarms and schedules. A “female” sign goes on the door when needed.
The women also balked at the early plan to put their living quarters on a separate floor from their squadmates. So base leaders now use one of four main sleeping bays to house the women. Cameras keep constant watch on the bay door and the stairs, and there’s always a woman at the monitoring station.
“There’s nothing they dislike more than to be separated,” said Col. Kelly Kendrick, the brigade commander. He said the women just want to “fit in and do the same as everybody else.”
This is the third class of recruits at Benning to include women. When they’re not sleeping or washing clothes, they’re completely integrated into their units.
As sun peeked over the horizon on an October morning, dozens of infantry recruits spread across the Fort Benning field going through their morning PT drills. In the dark mist, it was difficult to tell one from another as they powered through situps and pushups.