Differences in physical strength can be overcome  Militaries can use ‘gender-blind’ recruitment and training processes, treating all candidates the same regardless of gender. This is 100% fair and some women will certainly succeed in entering combatant roles and will prove themselves the equal or better than the men. For example, several Soviet women have distinguished themselves as snipers and combat aviators. [1]  Alternatively, militaries can calibrate recruitment and training to suit female candidates. There is a precedent for this in the U.S. military’s A.P.F.T. (army physical fitness test), which has variations for age. [2] If the test standards can be lowered for older men, they can also be lowered for women.  In the modern high technology battlefield, technical expertise and decision-making skills are often more valuable than physical strength.  For example, in the American army, performance targets are regularly calibrated for age and position. [3] A forty year-old senior N.C.O. (non-commissioned officer), faces a much easier set of targets than his 20 year-old subordinate, yet both are deployed in an active combat role.  [1] ‘Women in the Russian and Soviet Military’, Wikipedia, Accessed on June 2nd, 2011  [2] Casey L., ‘Women in Combat’, 1997, Accessed on June 2nd, 2011  [3] Powers, Rod, ‘Physical Fitness Test’, about.com guide, Accessed on June 2nd, 2011