Women at the German Army. A total disaster

[Tafkas]

Link to Video (http://www.tafkas.org/funstuff/frauenbeiderbundeswehr/index.html)

A video taken at the German Army. A total disaster. But it is fun though.

[MACDRIVE]

Those chaps were nice to help the blond German babe through the obstacle course. ;)

[janey]

But it is fun though.
Umm, right. Like you and all other guys can do that effortlessly.

How sexist.

[bartelby]

Umm, right. Like you and all other guys can do that effortlessly.

How sexist.

Exactly.
I was trying to figure out a polite way to put that, but failed.

[JNB]

Watched, cringed. It's not because she's a woman, though. It's an issue of being an uncoordinated klutz, with apparently no upper or lower body strength. Lots of men are just as hopeless. It does show that that particular person shouldn't be a soldier...

[Abstract]

I cringed at how absolutely hopeless she is. She shouldn't be in the army. Hell, she shouldn't be walking without supervision.

[bartelby]

Is everyone 100% sure she's in the army and not just someone who's office is having a team building day at an assault course?

[pilotError]

Not everyone in the army fights. There's plenty of people who push paper, program computers, etc.

Could it be a Reporter?

[wordmunger]

One thing that occurs to me is that these obstacle courses are designed specifically for men. In other words, they are designed to challenge men of average physical ability, which might put them just beyond the reach of an average woman's physical ability.

But an obstacle course is a completely artificial creation. The natural environment a soldier needs to navigate in isn't made up of walls exactly 8 feet high, or ditches precisely 6 feet across. Women have advantages over men (lower center of gravity, lighter weight) that might help them negotiate some obstacles in nature better than men.

[mad jew]

One thing that occurs to me is that these obstacle courses are designed specifically for men. In other words, they are designed to challenge men of average physical ability, which might put them just beyond the reach of an average woman's physical ability.

But an obstacle course is a completely artificial creation. The natural environment a soldier needs to navigate in isn't made up of walls exactly 8 feet high, or ditches precisely 6 feet across. Women have advantages over men (lower center of gravity, lighter weight) that might help them negotiate some obstacles in nature better than men.


That's an excellent point. I had to re-read it a few times to fully get where you're coming from, but it's an excellent point nonetheless. I'd still argue the average male is slightly better suited to being a footsoldier than the average woman, but as pilotError pointed out, there are more jobs in the army than just being a grunt. Plus, as you pointed out, this obstacle course only tests a small and generalised area of their job anyway.

As for the movie... Well, it's not funny, it has a boring and overly long intro, it is poor quality and I can't really see its purpose. I guess it fits into the internet really well.

[rockosmodurnlif]

Is everyone 100% sure she's in the army and not just someone who's office is having a team building day at an assault course?

Bartelby is probably on point here. I doubt she is in the military as I know a lot of women who are in the military and have done obstacle courses tougher than this. So this is not a hit against women in anyway, more than likely it is a burn against people who've never done something like that.

[Tafkas]

The video was taken at the OSH which is the German military academy. She is in the rank of an ensign and she is definitely not doing a office job like pushing papers. But that makes it even worse.

[jng]

The video was taken at the OSH which is the German military academy. She is in the rank of an ensign and she is definitely not doing a office job like pushing papers. But that makes it even worse.

Leave her alone. If she's that bad, then the Bundeswehr should just fire her. Or make her do paperwork. Or get her into shape.

The video is funny - at first. But pointless indeed after a while.

[Don't panic]

meh.
my take is that that she's been givan a 'hands on' demo of what it is like, and she's probably a journalist or something like that, who was a sport enough to give it a try.

she is enjoying it most of the way and having fun (rather then being humiliated), and the two senior men with her are there obviously to help her.

[MongoTheGeek]

meh.
my take is that that she's been givan a 'hands on' demo of what it is like, and she's probably a journalist or something like that, who was a sport enough to give it a try.

she is enjoying it most of the way and having fun (rather then being humiliated), and the two senior men with her are there obviously to help her.

That is what it looked like to me. I expected to see her mud spattered doing a B-roll clip about the Bundeswehr is protecting the Fatherland, to wrap it up.

[aloofman]

Bartelby is probably on point here. I doubt she is in the military as I know a lot of women who are in the military and have done obstacle courses tougher than this. So this is not a hit against women in anyway, more than likely it is a burn against people who've never done something like that.

I suspect that someone planned to tape it, knowing she's look foolish trying it. That's that part that's distasteful, that someone wanted to embarrass her.

[jng]

Haha, a journalist. That is probably it. But it saddens me if it is indeed rigged, because it shows deeper social perceptions of women in general. =/

Tafkas: Übrigens, "bei der Armee" wird als "in the army" übersetzt auf Englisch. :) Und klasse blog.

[janey]

She is in the rank of an ensign and she is definitely not doing a office job like pushing papers. But that makes it even worse.
I don't know what it is, but I consistently find your comments to be rather disturbing.

She might be a journalist, a "paper pusher", an ensign or anything..having a bit of fun maybe...but why do you have to make it sound like it's a horrible thing that she is apparently failing miserably at the obstacle course? Or shameful, despicable... Sometimes the point isn't to win or beat someone else..it's to have fun while trying to do so. Okay, so you can't always do everything the best, but sometimes it's worth it just to finish, even if you need help. And at least one study has shown that gamers still feel good despite losing a game (http://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingreviews/commentary/games/2006/07/71386).

The most unfortunate thing to happen to everyone (myself included) is that we often forget the difficulty of the path we've successfully conquered, whatever it may be. To make fun of anyone else on the same path but having trouble is quite unfortunate.

Unless there's some damn good reason why she can't eventually finish the course alone in a somewhat trivial matter sometime in the future, there's no reason to criticise her as such.

[StealthRider]

If she's an Ensign, she's a Naval Officer, and is not in the Bundeswehr. How much running and jumping do you anticipate she does in the German Navy?

[Tafkas]

Ensign does not only belong to the Navy.

Ensign is a junior rank of commissioned officer in the militaries of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy.

from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensign_%28rank%29

But nevertheless, I just thought it was funny and worth sharing. Who thinks the same, watch the video and laugh. Who consider this offensive, I am sorry.

[jng]

I don't know what it is, but I consistently find your comments to be rather disturbing.

Then you'd find society disturbing in general. Let's face it. These deep ingrained stereotypes and perceptions are embedded in many cultures, including American culture. It's just going to be heightened in the military, German or American.

[janey]

Then you'd find society disturbing in general. Let's face it. These deep ingrained stereotypes and perceptions are embedded in many cultures, including American culture. It's just going to be heightened in the military, German or American.

I do. But I believe a difference can be made, one person at a time, be it a small difference or a huge difference.

[aloofman]

Then you'd find society disturbing in general. Let's face it. These deep ingrained stereotypes and perceptions are embedded in many cultures, including American culture. It's just going to be heightened in the military, German or American.

As I was saying, it's not really what it's showing that's offensive, but the fact that someone thought to record and distribute it for amusement. Someone thought, "hey, other guys will think it's hilarious that this woman is totally inept at this obstacle course." That's the part that's sexist.

Just because society "is disturbing in general," doesn't mean that a specific thing can't be insulting.

[00hkelly]

http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2006/navy-seal-chimp-p1.php

this is a cool video, see how rubbish our whole race is! haha :rolleyes:

on the assault courses i have been on there have been some women and men like this, there were also one or two boys and girls right out the front and the rest of us average in the middle.

for every woman that is like this there is a man. not everybody has to be great at jumping over walls (as cool as it is) she might be a fantastic rocket scientist, or a genius biologist, or a computer whizz. who are we to judge from one video, everyone is good and bad at something.