A morter ( or a Bomb) Goes off... all the Guys hit the deck all the females stand looking stunned. M/F Q?

Question

When a loud Noise goes off the Guys all seem to Spring out of Harms way the Females all seem to let out a small scream and stand as if Stunned. Is it because Guys "figure it all out faster"? Or because the Females "Process the Information faster and realize they are Not harmed or in immidiate danger"? Arguement between 2 Soldiers male and female... Help to answer this for them........

69 I cannot be wrong as I did not give an answer.

nikaaay ummm yea sure... why bother answering if u really do not want to?

Lame Duck I am Off Duty We are forbidden from Searching for them ( I am an Engineer Not a field Infantry specialist.) Why answer What you have no valuble Opinion on? If you do not like me don't answer My question. I do not like you and I wish you would just go fill out a state medical form or something.....

everyone answered as If the Males and Females were IN the Service the Questioners were NOT the People........ shhhesh

Answer 1

It's not clear from your question whether the mortar incident actually happened, or whether the people in the argument speculate that it is happening.

Do males and females actually react differently in that case? Is that observed behavior, or more speculation in the argument? Again, not clear in your question.

Anyway, reactions are both inbred and learned. For the inbred part, I suggest that males, on average, with higher testosterone levels and more muscle mass, would have faster reaction times. For the learned part, I suggest that anyone can be taught to react quickly to the situation you describe. Males might still react faster, but training would make the difference much smaller. As well, I suggest that civilians would not react as quickly in this situation. Male civilians would (again, on average) probably react slower than trained military females. Athletes would react better than non-athletes. There would also be a wide variability among males, or among females. Maybe males do "figure it all out faster," but training would enable everyone to figure it all out quickly enough to survive.

So if people are well trained, and have a mission to make the *enemy* respond to mortars more often than *you* respond to mortars, perhaps that might settle the "argument"?

But the follow-on question might be, how quickly does the unit recover from the attack, and respond? That's not a male/female bickering, but a matter of unit capability and training and leadership.

Answer 2

Very interesting, never really thought of it. I would guess that when we hear it and take cover we are assuming there will be more, that would be my males perspective.

I mean you are right, if you hear it and are still standing you did not get hit, but what about the next one(s).

I might suggest to our women in the field that they should consider taking cover when they hear rounds coming in, because if history is any teacher there will be more rounds coming in.

IEDs are an interesting example, the NVA would set up charges to get you to run in a certain direction, and if you did you were eating the proverbial hsit sandwich, if you just took cover where you were you did not run into anything else. SO what do you guys do when the vehicle in front of you gets hit, stop, back up, go around, form a defensive perimeter? I would hope that training you people would be better than it was 35-40 years ago, and our training was pretty decent then.

So maybe as an add on, are the women following their training when they stand as if stunned?

Answer 3

I realize it's unacceptable in today's day and age to say there is more than just a physical difference between men and women. The reaction you are describing has to do with the difference in brain physiology.
Without going into a medical explanation as to why, men do not have the ability to use both sides of their brain at the same time. Men can only use either the right side or the left side of their brain at a given moment. One side of the brain controls logic. The other side emotions. This is why whenever you see a man acting emotionally, he actions are completely illogical.
Women, on the other hand, can use both side of the brain at the same time. Women can be emotional and logical at the same time, whereas a man cannot. This is the reason a man can never win an emotional argument with a woman.
The upside to a man's one sided thinking is that it allows for the hunter/killer instinct to develop. A man's brain will instinctively jump into crisis mode when danger arises. He can act without emotion during the first signs of danger, whereas a woman cannot.
It is the difference in brain physiology that has made mankind a successful species. It has made women the nurturers of the young, and men the gatherers of food and protectors.

Answer 4

If you took two civilians, one male one female and had them stand in a room and then set off a loud explosion, both would probably freeze. It is the normal response to such stimulation.

However, if you took trained police or military personnel and did the same you may very well see them dive for cover. That is product of training. The more conditioned to respond this way the more likely it is that one will do it.

I have know Vietnam veterans who spent their hitch in the motor pool. I also knew some who were in recon. Soon after returning home, a loud report such as a car backfire or fireworks going off would find the motor pool guys just looking around. The recon guys might already be under a parked car.

After their hitch was over in Vietnam they sent the soldiers, sailors and marines straight home. Literally, one day they were in the middle of a firefight and the next they were sitting on their Mom's front porch. Took a while to adjust.

So, directly to your question, it is mostly a matter of training and repetition then gender. I am sure the females in Briton during WWII learned to dive for cover when they heard a buzz-bomb's motor stop overhead.

.

Answer 5

I think alot of that has to do with how you're raised and what conditioning - intentional or not - you received growing up.

For the most part, most girls - NOT ALL - but most, are conditioned to be followers in emergencies and not to take action. Boys, on the other hand are taught to take action and that is reinforced with war movies and video games which girls don't usually play. They also see these traits in there male and female rold models growing up. To be fair, to a considerable extent, males and females are also wired differently, but that wiring will be superceded by the environment in which they are raised. I had a friend growing up who would react the way most girls you described did any time a car backfired, or whatever. But his dad was a drunk who was rarely around and his mom was a domineering 'witch' whose response to the slightest thing was over-the-top take control and stifle the kids altogether. None of her children are capable of making decisions on their own today.

That's my view. I could be wrong, there's no right answer.

Answer 6

I'm ex-military and i don't know what females your battle buddy-ing it up with but any time I heard a loud boom, crack, whistle or whatever I got the hell out of dodge and found shelter. As they say, move it, move it! You can't defend yourself while your defenseless. I can't stand to see ppl just standing around looking dumb in the face around chaos or danger. Lol, just like in the horror movies it sooo erks me when they say "hello is anybody there?" I start yelling at the screen, like you dumbazz, go ahead, just tell the killer where you are! Whereas he might not have known if you had of made a silent exit. If you see a bunch of ppl running terrified pass you, your best bet is to start haul'n azz with them and ask questions later! Curiosity killed the cat and you certainly can't be a hero if you're dead. So, in the case of those females who stood around looking like a deer in headlights versus those men who had the common sense to duck for cover loose my vote. They're pretty dumb in my book. Sorry.

Answer 7

Whatever the reason, of the two choices, the guy made the correct one. It is not the morter/bomb that just went off that you need to worry about. It is the next one. So, either take cover or fire back, don't just stand there.

Answer 8

there is one answer to this question i have seen it first hand...not all but most females freeze in high stress situation such as a bomb, ied, mortar going off that is the same reason you don't find women in infantry. no they don't process the information better or else they would hit the deck like we have all been trained

Answer 9

Sounds like the gys have retained their training better than the females. The females do not process the info better, they have just reverted back to the stereotypical role they play in American life, the scared girl - let the big brave man take care of me while all I can do is scream.
The thing both need to process is, is another one coming and from where.

Answer 10

Honestly, I think females tend to freeze initially in a crisis. That's not to say all, but I do think a majority of them do. Men tend to react quicker to crisis. Again, that's not saying all but a majority.

That's the dynamic at my house. My wife flips out in a crisis and I deal with it calmly. At the end of the crisis is when I tend to freeze up and realize what has happened and she is calm.

We click like that....

EDIT:

Thorgirl, it's about to be a complete mudhole where you are.....LOL!