Gen. Dempsey Says He Will Question Standards That Are "Too High"

The Department of Defense is protesting (too much) that when military women are allowed (actually, ordered) into direct ground combat battalions, they will be held to the same standards men must meet today.  This claim is not compatible with another major social goal of the Defense Department, what former Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen called "diversity as a strategic imperative."

There are seven major reasons why the Obama Administration, including compliant members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are being less than candid about the consequences . . . Read More

Military LGBT activists can hardly wait for the Supreme Court to declare the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional.  According to a Politico report titled "For LGBT Troops, DOMA Ruling a Pocketbook Issue," if the Supreme Court does not issue a sweeping ruling in their favor, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender groups will pressure Congress to pass legislation authorizing marriage benefits for same-sex couples. 

This suggests that if the courts or Congress abolish the DOMA, which defines marriage as the bond of one man and one woman, a new class of potentially "entitled" beneficiaries will expect to draw funds from shrinking Defense Department family support accounts.  . . . Read More

Results of the annual 2013 Military Times Poll of active-duty subscribers to the Gannett-owned Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Times newspapers, reveal political shifts and unresolved concerns about the consequences of social engineering in the military.  (See April 1 edition, pp. 8-10)  Trends on women in land combat and gays in the military hardly indicate that the administration's policies are universally supported by the men and women who serve.  . . . Read More

The Center for Military Readiness has prepared a brief but comprehensive analysis of issues raised when the Obama Administration set in motion a determined, incremental plan to unilaterally abolish military women's exemption from direct ground battalions.

This CMR Policy Analysis explains why the only way to show true respect and support for both women and men in our military, and to preserve tough training standards and sound policy regarding Selective Service, is to codify women's long-standing direct ground combat exemptions: 

Defense Department Drive to Force Women Into Direct Ground Combat: Why Congress Must Intervene

Congress should exercise its constitutional authority over military policy by establishing . . . Read More

On January 24 lame-duck Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced the administration's intent to eliminate military women's exemptions from direct ground combat battalions.  Targeted for unprecedented change would be Army and Marine infantry, armor, artillery, Special Operations Forces and Navy SEALs.

These are small fighting teams that locate, close with, and attack the enemy with deliberate offensive action and a high probability of . . . Read More

"Quick-Look" Summary Omits Details on Issues of Major Concern

On Friday, February 1, the Center for Naval Analysis (CNA) released a "Quick-Look Analysis of Survey Results Assessing the Implications of Possible Changes to Women in Service Restrictions."  The 5-page paper, dated September 2012, summarizes results of an online survey of active-duty Marines on the subject of women in combat, which was conducted from May 30 to August 31, 2012. 

The Center for Military Readiness obtained a copy of the 16-page CNA survey instrument in June, 2012, and prepared an analysis of the 122 questions asked. 

The CNA "Quick-Look" summary, belatedly released on a Friday, seems intended to manage public perceptions that are not supported by still-undisclosed research data.  If the survey of Marines revealed significant support for the assignment of women in "tip of the spear" direct ground combat units, detailed poll results would have been announced in full and proclaimed a "success" four months ago.  . . . Read More

Defense Department "Diversity" Push for Women in Land Combat

The Center for Military Readiness has released a new CMR Special Report, titled Defense Department "Diversity" Push for Women in Land Combat.  The 42-page document provides independent analysis of the Marine Corps research program that was initiated in April 2012, in order to gather information on the prospects for women in direct ground combat (infantry) battalions.  . . . Read More

When President Barack Obama first suggested that Chuck Hagel might be his choice for Secretary of Defense, some gay activists pledged to oppose the former senator because he is not sufficiently supportive of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) causes.  This gratuitous slap at President Obama, who indulges the same critics with LGBT Equality Month celebrations at the White House every June, should not be taken seriously. ... Read More

Defense Authorization Codifies Protections for Chaplains − More Work Needed 

The Center for Military Readiness is pleased that the National Defense Authorization Act for 2013 (NDAA) includes a new section of law that reaffirms the constitutional rights of chaplains to act in accordance with their views on issues affecting morality and religious beliefs. 

Working with a number of Military Culture Coalition (MCC) group leaders, CMR took a leadership role in efforts to protect constitutional rights of religious liberty in all branches of the service.  Read More

A Wall Street Journal article titled "Draft Army Handbook Wades Into Divisive Afghan Issue" has sparked controversy about the American military's response to jihadist culture in the Middle East.  According to reporter Dion Nissenbaum, a draft version of an Army report about the "social-cultural shock" in Afghanistan "suggests that Western ignorance of Afghan culture, not Taliban infiltration, has helped drive the recent spike in deadly attacks by Afghan soldiers against coalition forces."  

The Army handbook reportedly instructs American soldiers in Afghanistan to avoid discussions of Islam or any other religion . . . Read More

138 Women Killed in War on Terror

Since the attack on America on September 11, 2001, a total of 138 women deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait have lost their lives in service to America.

Most Americans, and even members of the media, are not aware that 138 brave servicewomen have died in the War on Terrorism. With few exceptions, news stories about their tragic deaths usually appear only in the military press, or in small hometown newspaper stories and television accounts that rarely capture national attention . . . Read More