You Women DON'T Belong Here.

When Janis was starting out in the Army, almost right away, she instantly felt the pressure about being a woman in the Army. Janis said that she sensed as if she entered a world where it was for men only. Every head turned and eyed turned on Janis and the other women she was with while in Fort McClellan.

Janis had a preconceived idea about what it was going to be like joining the Army, she knew beforehand that the majority of men would not accept her right away, and look down upon her. She was aware of what was to come, but what she did not prepare for was how the men there were so blunt and out and open with the fact that they do believe that women don’t belong there-at all. The army recruiter at Fort McClellan was the first person she encountered who clearly felt as if women should not belong in the Army.

“This is our Army,” he said, gesturing to include himself and all the women sitting before him. “It’s changing but it shouldn’t change too much.” (47)

“Some recruits raised their hands immediately and asked why, if women proved that they were capable and fit, they couldn’t serve in the infantry.” (47)

“Hyatt’s answer was blunt. “There isn’t training in this school that can prepare you for the realities of war, “he told us. “You can be fit, you can be ready, ladies, and you still man not be able to handle the realities of war.” (47)

During the whole speech that Hyatt was babbling about, Janis sat there, almost with her jaw dropped. When she thought that at least he was done criticizing women, he continued, “If you think you’re ready to do this, the first thing we need to decide is whether to put women and men side by side at the infantry school,” he said. Then he added: “And I hope that day never comes.” (47)
These comments that Hyatt was saying was only the beginning of what was to come, and this is what Janis had to deal with along with the horrific training she would have to endure.