media moment: armed forces

I came across this photo while going through the Reuters website and it struck me as a bit off. A photo of a female US Navy corpsman doing some sort of exercise. It was the second image of a slideshow, but the one in the headline that we see before entering the actual slideshow.

 I'm not sure if this same approach would be taken with men doing the same training, but maybe the image is just "suggestive" because we make it seem that way. The whole idea seems a bit archaic and not rooted in any science, maybe just to impress or gain the trust of the Thai Navy (seen below in the actual headline)

Do you think this kind of practice is necessary for people in the armed forces, or do you think it's almost a "forced" practice for a certain group of people? Do you think this photo would have even made it on the site if it wasn't for the sub-meaning we get from it?

Headline reads:

A U.S. marine drinks the blood of a cobra during a jungle survival exercise with the Thai Navy as part of the "Cobra Gold 2013" joint military exercise, at a military base in Chon Buri province February 20, 2013. About 13,000 soldiers from seven countries, Thailand, U.S., Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia are participating in the 11-day military exercise.

SOURCE:
http://blogs.reuters.com/fullfocus/2013/02/22/photos-of-the-week-6/#a=2