First Woman to Join U.K. Infantry Quits After 2 Weeks

Britain has recently lifted the ban on women serving in the frontline infantry, but the first woman to join the ranks quit after just two weeks. The woman said that the training was tougher than she had expected.

The recruit was not identified but her bosses said that she couldn’t keep up the pace during an 18-week physical course. Plus, she had underestimated how tough the training would be.

Two years got, Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron managed to remove the ban on female recruits serving in the country’s combat units despite the fierce opposition. Cameron argued that the army should reflect the make-up of the overall society, so women should be allowed to join in.

The RAF was the first to welcome women. The woman that recently quit is believed to be one of the three females to join the RAF ranks, in Suffolk. She was the only one to be accepted as the other two women were not fit enough to join the unit. The recruit started the tough training alongside 44 men.

The Recruit ‘Tried Her Best’

But after just two weeks, she quit as she couldn’t keep up with the male recruits in the endurance and other physical tests. One person familiar with the matter told British newspaper The Mail that she “was way off the pace” of other recruits, yet she nevertheless gained everybody’s respect.

She tried her best and was honest enough to admit the course was too tough for her,

the source told the newspaper.

What’s more, the female recruit was reportedly “isolated” when she was not training because she couldn’t fit in. Reportedly, male recruits were surprised to see her. The management kept her presence secret.

Also, the source claims that the instructors were forced to help her pass the tests because the superiors “wanted a good PR out of it.” Currently, just 9% of the British army consists of women. This means that around 7,000 U.K. service members are women.
Image Source: Defense.gov