My take in regards to females in the USMC- I have been in 16 years and seen a lot of females, and as a nutrition coach, and as a leader, I am responsible for helping them along and never pass up the chance to give some guidance. Female Marines are kick-ass! They are constantly working very hard to be fit and strong bc they don't want to be seen as "weak" -NEVER want to be the reason that the team is lagging, we know we are in the minority (about 6%). The issue is the females haven't had to train upper body that much. We focus on being lean and mobile first. Yes, they have been trained to carry weight and packs, drag or lift another person, etc (and this has increased in recent ) but the weight bearing wasn't the focus. We have history of lots of hiking, running and calisthenics- it's changing now. The women are getting there but it takes time to go to 3 if new. They shout "IT'S ABOUT TIME!" but need smarter programming, less "chronic cardio" and more heavy lifting.