CURRENT GROUND ASSIGMENT POLICIES RESTRICT THE ASSIGNMENT OF WOMEN SERVING IN AN OPEN PRIMARY MOS (PMOS) TO CERTAIN UNITS IN THE GROUND COMBAT ELEMENT (GCE). THE EXCEPTION TO POLICY WILL ALLOW US TO BEGIN ASSIGNING ACTIVE DUTY, UNRESTRICTED, FEMALE COMPANY GRADE OFFICERS, GUNNERY SERGEANTS, AND STAFF SERGEANTS IN THEIR CURRENT PMOS' TO ARTILLERY, TANK, ASSAULT AMPHIBIAN, COMBAT ENGINEER, COMBAT ASSAULT, AND LOW ALTITUDE AIR DEFENSE BATTALION STAFFS IN ORDER TO FACILITATE OUR RESEARCH EFFORT. FEMALE MARINES POSSESSING AN ADMINISTRATION, LOGISTICS, COMMUNICATIONS, SUPPLY, OR MOTOR TRANSPORT MOS MAY BE ASSIGNED TO THE ABOVE UNITS AS PART OF THE NORMAL ASSIGNMENT PROCESS DURING CALENDAR YEAR 2012.Is there a limit to who we allow in the military? Regards — Cliff
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Gender and The Military
A comment on the Althouse blog brought me to this article in The Washington Examiner. The new "equal rights" campaign against the Department of Defense is to allow enlistment of transgendered individuals. One wonders how the combat exclusion for women will play out here. That said, the Commandant of the Marine Corps is looking at a limited introduction of female officers and staff non-commissioned officers into ground combat units. In a 23 April Message the Commandant said, inter alia
Is there a limit to who we will allow in our military? Of course there is. We have a long, "proud" history of limiting people judged to be "inappropriate." Take minorities. BTW....women are NOT the minority. On a percentage basis, there are more women than men.
ReplyDeleteFilipinos were allowed in but only as Navy mess attendants or Army drivers of non-combat vehicles. Of course, until Truman's order, blacks were not allowed to fight and die in white units at all....and in many, many cases, they were relegated to support tasks. They finally made it into the flying fraternity with incredible success. Women on the other hand, in spite of flying every aircraft the AAF ordered, never got to "mainstream" status. Why? They lacked "ability."
Today, there is grudging acceptance of women in most specialties, but their numbers are few and for the most part, their ability to progress to the top does not exist. The current AF promotion of a female to 4 twinkie status is IMHO as much a stunt as anything. Right along with her promotion was the tacit commentary that while a woman can now achieve 4 star status, she can never hope to be Chief of Staff or to command a combat command.
Smoke and mirrors.....and the military boy's club goes back to business as usual.