Blademaster

Man, I had no idea that the average grunt without his equipment weighs at 200 lbs. Right now I weigh at around 197 lbs but that's because I'm overweight.

Right now i am getting in the groove of a weight loss program. I try to wake up at 7 30 in the morning and go for a 2.5 mile run and finish it within 25 minutes, do 4 sets of pushups and situps. Right now I'm adding jumprope to my exercise program. For now, I am not doing any weightlifting until i lose some of my weight. The problem with weightlifting is that i get muscle fatigue too easily b/c I go overboard trying to do everything too fast. I am not repeating that mistake. I am taking it gradually. Once I lose about 7 to 10 lbs, then I will go into weightlifting program but I will do less aerobic exercises.

Right now, I can do 35 pushups in the 1st set, but only 20 pushups in the 2nd and an abysmal 10 pushup in the 3rd. In the 4th, i had to stop a couple times trying to get to 10. I have a long way to go before I ever meet my target of 50 pushups per set. Once i get there, I aim to go higher like 75 for 1st and 2nd set and then 50 for 3rd and 4th. The ultimate is 100 pushups for 1st and 2nd set.

I need to lose 20 lbs of fat. I need to keep at least 5 to 7 lbs of fat for energy reserves.

Any suggestions for my exercise program? Keep in mind that I hate exercising but I force myself to do it because I don't want to be seriously overweight. One of the (wierd) ways I motivate myself is daydreaming about being a Rambo or Stallion or other gung ho stuff to keep myself going and finishing the 3 mile run. I exercise for 5 to 6 days and then take a 1 to 2 day break.

Blademaster

One more thing, we know about the opinions regarding the females in combat. What about homosexuals?

I'm fine as long as he doesn't declare that he is homo or acts in a homo way. If he does that, it makes the whole situation extremely uncomfortable because in close combat quarters, I don't want a guy making passes at me. It would piss me off to no end. I need to be comfortable with the guy without worrying about homosexuality or such. It all boils down to trust in a foxhole.

Blademaster

Of course, I brought this up because right now I am studying a case in Civil Procedures where a Navy midshipman was discharged for declaring himself as a homo and he sued to be reinstated. The issue at hand was the Navy allow to inquire whether the guy did homo acts. The guy refused to answer the questions, stating it was unconstitutional and against his 5th amendment rights. The district court ordered him to testify and when he refused, the court dismissed the case. The appellate court reversed the dismissal because the district court was not allowed to ask that question whether the guy did any homo acts. There's more to the story than what I'm telling because it is too long and complicated. Basically, in a nutshell, we are studying the discovery phase in a civil trial and this case serves a good example, for the life I do not understand.

Another thing, I do not understand why I am typing this useless response since I am supposed to be studying but instead, I am jacking off, surfing this board.

Well doh, back to studying.

Julie

I wasn't being ignorant. I just posted an article from Congress about why things have arisen the way they have as to women in the military. The article states that the women's positions in the military are broadening BECAUSE OF A SHORTAGE IN SKILLED MALE SOLDIERS. If you still have a problem with that, contact your IGNORANT CONGRESSMAN.

Don't you see, women aren't where the root of the problem is. I AGREE that women can not do the things you say they should be able to do in combat. But women are having no choice but to be put into these positions, because of the circumstances concerning MEN.

The point you seem to be missing entirely being made by me is that you criticizing women's role in combat is only making the problem worse. You should be criticizing the men that are forcing the hand of Congress to put them there, because obviously men do not want to be there.

Either way, this issue is the male gender's fault. So give it up.

Julie

Vigorous exercise does little good without watching your diet, and vice versa. The main thing is cut out your sugar content. Use a sugar substitute in tea/coffee, and drink diet drinks and/or water. Just by doing this with NO exercise, I lost 10 pounds in two weeks. No starches (rice and pasta). Eat veggies, fruit, chicken and fish. The grocery stores are now packed with all low-carb/no fat things that are just yummy. When you go grocery shopping, put those in your buggy instead of all of the no-nos. Do that, and stick to it, and you should drop at least 20 pounds the first 30 days. I tend to put on 10-15 pounds easily during the holiday season, and I do this right after the holidays to lose that extra weight.

Blademaster

Might as well ask for the moon. But still, I manage to control my diet by not eating too much, ie, lowering my calorie intake and boosting my calorie
consumption during exercises.

I HATE DIET COKE! Bah! I love Coca Cola and nothing else. I don't drink tea or coffee. I don't drink 3 cans of coke everyday. It is usually around 1 can to 2 cans if I watch it everyday.

Rice & pasta will be hard to do without. Remember I'm an Indian guy. Rice is part of the Indian staple diet.

Can you give me examples of dinners that can be easily made within 15 minutes? I do not have much time for cooking and i am forced to eat out because I take night classes which ends aroudn 9 30 and most restuarants would be closed. I usually go to Taco Bell or Wendys.

Officer of Engineers

You didn't make the quote, so how could you be ignorant?

I'm Canadian, remember? The shortage is in the combat service, not the combat arms.

These are not the combat arms, ie the people who's real job is to actually do the killing and the dying.

But they are NOT being put into these positions (ie combat arms). Combat Service has always been openned to women for the longest time. These are the mechanics, the cooks, the traffic cops.

Combat arms is defined as infantry, artillery, armour (ie tanks), and engineers (minefields and explosives). Women by law are not allowed in the combat arms.

It is NOT a gender problem but a retention problem. This article is twisting the facts to suit an agenda which frankly has nothing to do with gender. If good people (men or women) are leaving, then sticking brand inexperienced people in the same job is not solving the problem.

__________________
Chimo

Julie

If it is not a gender problem, then why are we having this discussion at all?

Officer of Engineers

I did not post this article.

Let me give you an analogy that I heard the other day. Just because a 12 year old is a good babysitter, should she have the legal right to become a mother without parental concent?

Julie

First off....forget Wendy's..ahem...maybe you didn't read that thread yet.

Secondly, your schedule probably finds you going through fast food places alot. Almost everyone has grilled chicken wraps. Those are good and healthy. If they don't have the grilled...okay, get the fried chicken....but only unless you absolutely have to. If not, grilled chicken sandwich...BUT NO FRIES! You've got to lay off those cokes. If you can't find a diet drink that suits you, drink water. Diet sprite is good, try that. Oh yeah, have you tried the diet cherry coke? You can't even tell it's diet. Give that a try. If you absolutely have to have rice (I am a rice lover too), try not to eat it but maybe once a week. Do light bread if you can stomach it (I prefer wheat bread over light white). Sub sandwiches are very low in calories and very healthy. Meals at home, I do grilled chicken/baked potatoes, veggies alot (I do cheat a little and put a slice of monterey jack cheese melted on top of the chicken -- it's yummy). If you have a Japanese restaurant around, the hibachi vegetables are delightful, with a little side of seasoned rice.

Like I said, check the grocery stores, the frozen food sections have many low/carb low/fat items -- I like the Chicken and oriental vegetables. They are pretty good, and feed 2 people.

One of my favorites is a country boil (seafood). Crab shrimp boil (seasoning packets or liquid). Boil water with the seasoning, place small white potatoes, corn on the cob, an onion or two, and (sausage for seasoning). When the potatoes are done, put in shrimp and/or crab legs, boil for an additional 3 - 5 minutes, and cut off, and drain. It is very good and healthy.

Confed999

I seriously do, especially since his IP was in the same range, and on the same server as Rambo's.
Yes he did, but he had no right to do it with insults even after being asked to "tone it down please".
I'm extatic about how it's working out. Better than I would have ever imagined possible.
No Ma'am, read his first post in this thread. I banned him, and I'm allmost as close to his side as you are.
He was a jerk, I asked him to stop, he continued. What's unfair?

__________________
No man is free until all men are free - John Hossack
I agree completely with this Administration’s goal of a regime change in Iraq-John Kerry
even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act-John Kerry
He may even miscalculate and slide these weapons off to terrorist groups to invite them to be a surrogate to use them against the United States. It’s the miscalculation that poses the greatest threat-John Kerry

Julie

Now you're way off topic....but okay, I'll ante up.

The age of consent for sex in the State of Alabama is 12 years old and above, meaning, the door to parent-hood is open at the age of 12. http://www.ageofconsent.com/alabama.htm

Alhough most jurisdictions in the world today have an age of consent between 14 to 18 years, but ages as young as 12 and as old as 21 also occur, with some countries in the Middle East holding female ages of consent in the single-digit range. http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Age_of_consent

Do I personally think a 12-year old would make a good parent? As compared to a 25-year old leaving her kids alone at night to go out and party and do drugs. YES, because a 12-year old's life is limited to a more stay-at-home capacity. Taking attention span and degree of care of an infant into consideration, NO.

Getting back to topic -- women are always put into a catch 22 situation because of men. And dealing with men on a daily basis, I can personal vouch that they are a pain in my butt, as the day is long.

I was at a Government Training Facility one day overseeing one of my crews installing some wood fence, and when it was time to break for lunch, I volunteered to stay with the equipment whilst they went to grab a bite to eat. While reloading an air-compressed nail gun, two FBI trainees, with their paint guns in hand, came up to me while role-playing during one of their "scenarios." I identified myself, showed them my contractor badge, and one of them informed me to turn around against the wood fence for a "search," and one of them was going to search my truck. I said I was "out of play," meaning I was not the person they were looking for, and upon saying that, they should have left.....but no....they didn't, they wanted to have a little fun, with an unattended woman.

As I was leaning against the fence, and this guy felling my legs up and down, I happened to look down and see my fully charged nail gun, and began smiling. In a split second, I grabbed the nail gun, spun around, aiming it right at him. There he stood smiling, with his paint gun aimed at me, and me with a dangerous loaded weapon aimed right at him. He just smiled, and said, whatcha going to do with that? I turned slightly and began firing off 3" galvanized nails through the woods, then turned it back on him, and I said, I told you I'm out of play. The other guy is just standing by my truck in shock, then the other guy shoots 6 shots of his paint ball gun on my fence ruining it. Needless to say, I was utterly pissed and didn't hesitate to start shooting at the ground around his feet with the nail gun. Both of the dumbasses took off running. They had on jackets and on the back that said FBI. Pffft. Had I not been there alone, they wouldn't have harassed me the way they did.

I can't take my vehicles to a shop and have something simple done without getting some bs story about how this and that has to be done first, and my bill being $600.00 instead of $100.00. That really pisses my husband off.

Now, back to topic. Bush can't initiate a draft, otherwise he will be breaking his political promise. Lower male recruits are causing the military to find "loopholes" to put more bodies in Iraq. So, they call these women "attachments" so as not to be breaking the laws as to women in a combat zone. The result? Men are giving the women a hard time, in combat, as well as in discussions on the subject.

I heard the Americans, as well as soldiers, whine to Rumsfeld about there not being enough soldiers on the ground. So, the Bush Administration tapped what resources they had and regrouped the situation. They sent in the infantry from Ft. Stewart, Georgia. I've worked at the premises at Fort Stewart -- lots of Georgia women there, and I'll tell ya something, whether you want to believe it or not, there aint much they're scared of.

I don't know about you, but since Christmas, I've seen some damn good positive results going on in Iraq. Deny it if you want to -- but it's a fact jack. And it's being monitored closely by Congress. I've followed it as much as I can as well, out of concern and curiosity.

But, say what you want. Everthing has its good points as well as bad points. I always try to keep an open mind to a certain extent. As far as ignorant goes, well, you can keep that word and put it where it means something.

Confed999

You've taken something as an insult, that has nothing to do with you.

bonehead

Like it or not the reality is that women soon will be official active combat participants, shoulder to shoulder with men. First of all. There has always been excuses why a woman could not do a traditional men's job. every time the women has proven the excuses wrong. They are CEOs, doctors, lawers, firefighters, construction workers, and policemen, to name a few. It is only a matter of time before the excuses (and thinly veiled chauvanism) in this thread will be put to rest as well. To bring women up to the brink of combat then say, "No no dear. Combat aint for women. You just load the rifle. I'll do the shooting", is not realistic. Secondly, as the modern battlefields have changed and become more dynamic, few know where the battlefield is untill the first bullets, or rockets of the next ambush have been fired. It is only semantics, and an unwillingness to face the truth, to say that woman do not have active combat roles. This transition can be the U.S. military's finest hour or a supreme failure. The average women CAN do the job as well as the average man. The journys are different, but the destination is the same.

Julie

Oh, it has a heck of alot to do with me. While my father was in the Navy, who do you think was left behind to work in the shipyards 12 - 18 hours a day building the naval ships in our port city? Women like my mother for one, while my grandmother kept me.

It takes two to tango through this war and the men had better stop stepping on the women's feet or they both will go down. But, that's how women have gotten so far today, being there in a rush and during a crunch, the men whining all the way. We'll come out better when it's all over -- we always have.